A Different Take on Dragons: Race To The Edge
by BrennaThomas
Summary: Starts at Season 3 Episode 6 "A Grim Retreat." What if the island Astrid and Fishlegs chose was not as deserted as they believed? What if the island had become a sanctuary for injured dragons? And what if the dragon protecting it was a familiar face? Join the Riders as they make a new ally in their fight against the Dragon Hunters.
1. Chapter 1

A Different Take on Dragons: Race To The Edge

Summary: What if the island Astrid and Fishlegs chose was not as deserted as they believed? What if the island had become a sanctuary for injured dragons? And what if the dragon protecting it was a familiar face? Join the Riders as they make a new ally in their fight against the Dragon Hunters.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my OC. Everything else belongs to Dreamworks

Chapter 1: "A Grim Retreat" Part 1

Everyone and their Dragons were exhausted. They had been working non stop at producing and shaping the Gronckle Iron to reinforce The Edge for any surprise attack Vigo might pull, and it was starting to show. Hiccup didn't seem to notice, as he was so caught up in protecting them from Vigo that he failed to see how hard he was being on them.

As hiccup and Astrid landed to check on their progress Fishlegs spoke up, "Uh, Hiccup? I think Meatlug might be ready for a break. She's starting to lose her gag reflex." Said dragon made a gurgling noise of affirmation. Snotlout chose that as his cue to speak up in a mocking tone

"Guess the perfect little machine isn't so perfect after all."

"Have you checked your dragon? The giant oven doesn't look too perky, either." Snotlout turned to his own dragon at the snarky retort. Snotlout watched as Hookfang dropped his head onto the ground hard in his exhausted state, the impact causing a burst of flame to shoot out from his mouth towards Barf and Belch. The dragon seemed to take offence at the action and retaliated with their own, the gas making Snotlout scramble up from his place on the ground to avoid being set on fire again. Having missed the intended target the small explosion landed near Stormfly who shot her tail spikes at the two-headed dragon, only to pin the twins upside down on a tree branch. Normally the twins would be happy at the forced relocation, but were too exhausted and only seemed confused.

"Uh, what?" asked Tuffnut. His twin wasn't any better off and merely shrugged at her brother.

Hiccup was surprised at Toothless's growl of admonishment to Stormfly, "Really? You too, bud?" Toothless chased Stormfly to Hookfangs side and said dragon decided to voice his own disapproval at the noise.

Hiccup had had enough, "All right, that's it! Dragons, to your corners!" Hiccup felt a little bad at the apologetic look Toothless gave him, he'd make it up to him after he got everyone to calm down.

"Hey, Hiccup. Did you know that up-side down you actually have a metal arm instead of a metal leg?" Hiccup chose to ignore Ruffnut's comment and turned his attention to Fishlegs, Snotlout and Astrid.

"What is going on around here?" he asked, absentmindedly stroking Toothless scales as he returned to his side. As always it was Astrid who had the courage to speak up for her fellow riders, so she gripped her arms and told her friend (crush) what was wrong.

"Hiccup, we've been working really hard on these reinforcement wall. Everyone is just tired. Look at the Dragons."

Snotlout was quick to add his own two cents, "You know, Hookfang and I could really use a vaycay."

"Vacation? Count us in. We'll grab our straw helmets and a chilling tale of viking murder to read on some enchanted beach, aughing as the waves crash against us…" Ruffnut happily nodded along with her twins suggestion already imagining how nice it would be to take a break.

"Guys, I get that you're all tired, but remember why we're doing this." Hiccup tried to get everyone back on track, but was interrupted by his cousin.

"Oh, because you told us to."

"No, because Vigo is out there." Don't they understand just how much of a threat that man really is. Aren't they scared of what he would do not only to them, but their dragons as well? "And when he finally realizes he can't use the Dragon Eye without the key, he's gonna come looking for it. We can't leave the edge unguarded again."

Everyone was disappointed at the news, but that didn't stop Ruffnut from still asking, "So, yay or nay on the vacay?"

"Oh, god's." Hiccup shook his head at the female twin and mounted Toothless to return to his hut. Landing he quickly dismounted Toothless and let his friend find his own place to relax. It was days like today that he really got a glimpse at what it would be like when he took his father's place as chief of the Hooligan Tribe of Berk. It was surreal, for the longest time he believed that his father would choose one of his friends to be chief, most likely Snotlout since they were cousins or maybe Astrid for her level head and prowess in combat. Now being Chief was inevitable for him and not an unrealistic possibility and it scared him, he loved his tribe but he wanted to see the world. He knew it was so much bigger than they ever thought and with Toothless he could see it all, but now that his tribe had accepted him he couldn't abandon them especially not his friends.

Time Lapse:

Fishlegs and Astrid landed in front of Hiccups hut and easily spotted him on the ground with his map.

Astrid was the one to break the silence, "Working on your map, huh?"

Fishlegs was quick to join, "Need any help?" He always enjoys helping Hiccup with his projects and while it wasn't his current objective he would be sure to ask again later.

"No, thanks, I'm just kind of -" Astrid was quick to cut him off.

"You sure? 'Cause, you know, Fishlegs is really great with maps."

"Really great." he agreed.

Hiccup finally looked up from his work at their awkward tone and nervous chuckles, "Okay, fine, out with it, you two. You didn't come all the way up here because you love cartography." He knew what they wanted to discuss and he wasn't sure he was ready to broach the topic of a vacation again.

Fishlegs looked to Astrid to start, "We object." she stated getting down on her knee to be level with Hiccup.

Fishlegs followed her lead, "We think everyone could use a break. The dragons are really cranky from being overworked."

"Guys, I thought we went over this." Hiccup started but was cut off by Astrid,

"Just hear us out." She motioned for Fishlegs to take over.

"As you know we've been making Gronckle Iron. A lot of it. In doing so, we've exhausted the supply of Sandstone on The Edge. And as you know, bo sandstone, no Gronckle Iron."

"There's a nearby island that has a huge supply of it. It's also deserted, quiet and would be a great place to relax, and take a little break from real work."

"I don't have a choice on this one, do I? Where is this island, exactly?"

Astrid and Fishlegs exchanged a triumphant lok before Astrid pointed out the island on Hiccups map.

Time Jump!

Scathach and Grim were startled during her rounds around the island, by one of the little dragons screeching and flailing towards them at great speed. Scathach welcomed the little dragon into her arms, and he/she began chirping loudly, not realizing that the human currently holding him/her could not understand what he/she was trying to say. Scathach soothed the little dragon in her arms, assuming another wounded Dragon had been brought to the island she grabbed her satchel, being careful not to jostle the dragon in her arms as she mounted Grim and followed the little dragons direction. Or well, Grim followed the dragons directions.

Coming closer to the Lagoon Scathach noticed that instead of an injured dragon there was a group of six humans and five healthy looking dragons, reacting quickly she guided Grim down into the forest to hide, placing a hand on the little dragons snout to quiet his/her protests. She breathed a sigh of relief when they were not spotted, though that relief morphed into careful curiosity when Grim growled lowly at the sight of them, He knows them? Seeing that while Grim was upset at the sight of the group, but not going to attack Scathach settled down into their hiding spot to observe the group.

After a few minutes of watching them, it became apparent to Scathach that the one legged boy was in charge and the blonde girl was most likely his second. She also noticed that while the other dragons quickly joined the humans in the lagoon, the smaller black one stayed on dry land, he/she's green eyes watching the forest cautiously. Glancing at the dragon underneath her Scathach noticed that Grims eyes never left the black dragon, placing her hand on his hide she tried to soothe him, "Do not worry. Whatever happens I will not let them harm you or any other dragon on this island."

Grim considered the words from his human and accepted the declaration to be true. Out of all the humans he had met this one had never raised a hand to him or his kin, outside of self-defense, had never tried to control him and was quick to come to his aide if it was needed. He was aware that his human was not 'pure', even now he could smell the blood on her hands, but she was not without kindness or honesty. That knowledge had formed a bond of trust between the two, so the Skrill would listen to his chosen rider and trust her to know what she was doing.

"We will keep an eye on them, until they leave. If they try to harm the other dragons then we will intervene, but until that happens we must stay hidden." Scathach noticed Grims irritation at the prospect of waiting and couldn't help but smile, her friend was not patient. "Why don't you return to the others and keep an eye on them." Grim gave a soft hesitant churr at the idea of leaving her alone, he knew that the riders wouldn't harm her, but he still didn't want to leave her alone. "Do not worry. The shadows have always been my first home, I will be safe. Go watch over our charges, we don't know if these humans came alone and I do not wish to leave them unattended." Reluctantly Grim nodded and left his rider to return to the other dragons. He would move them closer to the other side of the island just in case and return to his riders side at nightfall.

Scathach waited until her friend was gone from her sight before returning her gaze to the six riders and five dragons. She spent the time watching them frolic in the lagoon, studying the saddle and harness strapped to the black dragon and the corresponding tailfin, she admired the craftsmanship and ingenuity behind the design. The small dragon alerting her of the arrival of seven similar dragons pulled her gaze away from the harness and saddle. The dragons had been born on the island, they were not the smartest dragons, but she found them easy to train as sentries and spies. This was further aided by the small mirror hanging from each of their necks, each piece connected to the larger piece around her own neck. The other seven dragons soon joined their sibling and Scathach in watching the eleven visitors for the rest of the day; she learned that the smallest males name was Snotlout, the largest Fishlegs, the blonde Tuffnut and his twin Ruffnut, the other blonde Astrid, and their leader Hiccup. The dragons were named, Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch, Stormfly and Toothless.

Snotlout pushed everyone into the water at least once using his own name as a sort of soft battle cry, the twins tried multiple times to drown the other, with Fishlegs trying to keep the peace between the two so he could relax and Hiccup and Astrid splashed whatever friend came close. And all the while Toothless stayed out of the water to stand watch, and the other dragons floated in the water, each still wearing their saddles.

Grim did not have a saddle, she simply learned to trust him not to drop her, the idea of placing a saddle on Grim was unthinkable to Scathach. Grim's not her pet, she had not tamed him and she did not control him, the only reason she could ride him is because he allows her too, to think otherwise would be foolish on her part.

As the sun began to set the group made camp in a small clearing off to the side of the lagoon, Scathach quietly ordered the eight dragons to surround the camp, allowing her to keep an eye on the surrounding area with her own mirror piece. The twins were told to make the groups dinner and judging by the smell wafting from the camp, it was a decision they all quickly regretted.

"Dinner is served." announced Tuffnut as he and his sister presented the group with the foul smelling fish.

"What is that smell?" asked Fishlegs as he desperately tried to wave the smell away.

As Tuffnut brought a plate over to Hiccup and Astrid they both groaned in disgust and leaned away from their friend, "What is this?" asked Astrid pointing to the plate.

"Oh, glad you asked, milady. That would be salt-encrusted sea bass with a salted seaweed gravy. Mixed in with salt and all finished with a little pinch of salt on top." Tuffnut finished his explanation with a proud grin, but all Scathach and the others could do as gag.

Throughout her life Scathach had to do some pretty awful things to survive, including eating some very questionable things, but nothing could compare to the foul monstrosity the twins had created.

"Woa, that is salty." Toothless inspected Hiccups fish.

"Too much, you think?" asked Ruffnut. In response Toothless snarled, Astrid gagged and when Fishlegs tried to feed a piece to Meatlug she puked.

"Oh, weird. The dragons usually love fish, no matter how bad it tastes." At that piece of information Scathach straightened, she had made the same observations about dragons, they were not necessarily picky eaters, sure some had preferences, but when hungry they'd eat anything. Something was wrong. Or I am just being paranoid.

"Hookfang won't even touch it."added Snotlout, "And I've seen him eat piles of yak dung. I mean piles of fresh - out - of - the -"

"Okay, we get it, Snotlout." interrupted Astrid, before he could go into to much detail.

Tuffnut and his sister huffed and dropped down to sit, "Well, I chalk it up to underdeveloped palates. Both human and dragon." The twins gave each other a head butt of encouragement, before digging into their "masterpiece", Scathach and the others cringed at the faces the twins made. But she had to give them credit they ate all of their fish without complaint and Scathach had to stop herself from giggling at the tears the two sported.

Both belched and groaned once their respective fish were gone.

"I need to lay down."

"Me too."

All the humans and dragons were asleep. Scathach did not feel tired and resigned herself to the fact that he could not sleep until the group left, it would not strain her, she had stayed up for weeks before. What was one night?

Time Skip

Scathach didn't know how much time had passed when a sound began to emanate from the group. The hidden girl turned her attention to the origin of the sound, which was Meatlug, the dragon was desperately trying to scratch herself, but her saddle was getting in the way. The dragon scratched desperately at her scales, but once it was off she stopped itching and proceeded to wander away from the campsite. "Stay here and watch the camp please. I want to follow her."

The small dragon with her nodded its acceptance of the order and settled back down in the tree. Scathach wasted no time catching up to the wandering dragon, she worried that the seemingly disoriented dragon would run into one of the islands dragons. But when they arrived in a clearing frequented by the islands nocturnal dragons, it was empty.

Grim must have moved the dragons to the other side of the island. Good thinking. What on earth is wrong with her; none of the dragons seemed to mind the saddles before, so why would she want to get rid of it now?

Glowing saliva began to drip and gather on Meatlug's chin and her eyes became so slited they seemed to almost disappear. First the fish and now this, something is definitely wrong, but the other dragons seemed fine.

A shout of "Meatlug!" heralded Fishlegs arrival, the fact that Meatlug hid from her rider instead of going to him was just another sign that something was wrong.

"Quiet and serene, my butt. Meatlug? Here girl. It's Daddy." he called out. The speed at which Meatlug moved to startle Fishlegs impressed Scathach, his flailing did not, for such a big and compact creature Meatlug could move when she wanted to. "And I'm really scared, so it'd be great if you came out and…" Fishlegs trailed off as he spotted his dragon with her back to him, "Is she sleepwalking?" Fishlegs relaxed as Meatlug began to turn to him, the glowing saliva dripping from her mouth, the hairs on the back of Scathachs neck stood up, Run you idiot! "Oh, thank Thor. I'm here to take you...home?"

Meatlug finally faced Fishlegs and growled menacingly, she crouched low ready to pounce, "All right! All right!" he tried to placate her "I knew she was too tired. But I pushed her. Bad Fishlegs bad." Scathach's eyes widened as the boy hit himself, Definitely a weird one.

"Okay, listen girl." Meatlug snarled at the boy, "I promise, no more work until you're…" Fishlegs didn't get to finish his statement as Meatlug finally lunged for him.

Fishlegs screamed and started running back to the camp, Scathach followed if the most docile of the dragons was this agitated then the others were worse.

As he was running through the forest he tried to reason with his dragon, telling her that it was Hiccup's fault and that she should be mad at him. The boy was able to avoid being caught by hiding in an old hollowed out tree stump, Meatlug sniffed around it, but could not find the boy hiding inside. Once she was gone he raced back to the campsite with Scathach following him in the shadows. Bursting into the clearing Fishlegs saw that the other dragons had bitten off their saddles too, just like Meatlug. Scathach quickly returned to the small dragon who was clearly agitated at the turn of events.

Out of breath Fishlegs tried to wake up the other riders, "Everybody, wake up!" he shouted.

Snotlout having heard the exclamation lifted up his head to address his friend, "Zip it, Fish Face." He rolled over, "The sun's not even out." Fishlegs groaned at the dismissal and turned back to the dragons as the growling and snarling got louder.

"Oh, Thor!"

Everyone else woke up at the sound of the irritated dragons, "What's going on with the dragons?" asked Hiccup his eyes searching the group for Toothless.

"No idea. All I know is that Meatlug was sleepwalking, and when I found her she was in a really bad mood and chased me through the forest and tried to kill me."

Yeah, and the fact that there is glowing saliva dripping down from not only her mouth, but all the others as well isn't a factor at all. Scathach paused, But Toothless seems fine.

"I don't think their playing." Scathach couldn't help the snort that left her at Hiccup's helpful observation.

"Stormfly, no!" Astrids command came too late as Stormfly fired a shot at the group, luckily each one was able to avoid it.

From her hiding spot Ruffnut started blaming her brother, claiming the dragons being cranky as his fault since none of them ate his fish so they had gone to bed hungry. Not a bad theory, but if the dragons were hungry they could have easily gone and caught their own fish.

"No, it's not the fish. Look at their saddles. They've been chewed off." Hiccup gestured at the aforementioned saddles.

"It's a revolt. They're rising up against us!" Fishlegs panicked.

"Why would they do that?" asked Astrid

"I don't know." Snotlout crossed his arms and gave Hiccup a pointed look, "Why would they?"

Hiccups eyes widened, "You think this is my fault?" Hiccup gained no response as Stormfly fired another shot and the dragons charged. Only to be stopped by Toothless.

"Okay, everyone split up. If we're together, we're vulnerable."

"Got it!" The others wasted no time each turning and running into the forest, Astrid paused,

"Hiccup, come on!"

"It seems as though Toothless is okay."

Now why is that?

"We'll hold them off until you guys are clear. We'll find you." Astrid gave him a nod and headed into the forest. Hiccup and Toothless tried to lure them out of the clearing by air but were knocked into the Lagoon, and the dragons flew off to find the other riders before the two resurfaced.

Scathach looked into the mirror piece she wore around her neck and was happy to see that six of the eight little dragons were following the individual riders. The other two had returned to the island dragons.

Scathach looked up when Toothless and Hiccup resurfaced, "We better find the others before the dragons do."

End of Part 1


	2. Chapter 2

A Different Take on Dragons: Race To The Edge

Summary: What if the island Astrid and Fishlegs chose was not as deserted as they believed? What if the island had become a sanctuary for injured dragons? And what if the dragon protecting it was a familiar face? Join the Riders as they make a new ally in their fight against the Dragon Hunters.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my OC. Everything else belongs to Dreamworks

Chapter 2: "A Grim Retreat" Part 2

Scathach stuck close to Hiccup and Toothless throughout the night. They hadn't run into any of the other riders and that was worrying her. What if they ran into the dragons or Grim? She really didn't feel like dealing with five corpses, Just imagine the smell. Scathach wrinkled her nose and the subsequent memories of the smell.

Looking up from her mirror piece she saw that the sun was beginning to rise in the distance, the sky behind the mountain turning deep purples and blues. Seeing the purple color made Scathach think of her own friend; Was he alright? Was he worried? Hiccups voice startled her out of her thoughts.

"Nothing. They must have really split up." Not that much they haven't. When she wasn't watching Toothless and Hiccup she was watching her mirror piece, switching between images of each rider. Tuffnut and Fishlegs were together as were Snotlout and Astrid. "See if you can pick up any sounds, bud." The howl Toothless let loose set Scathachs teeth on edge, What on earth was that?

Not a second later did the pair hid behind a tree and looking up she could see why. Hookfang and Stormfly were flying overhead, but didn't seem to notice the pair. Interesting.

"Okay, those weren't the sounds we were looking for." All three watched as the two dragons flew off to look for the other humans. "I haven't seen them act like this since we trained them. They're hunting like wild dragons." All three turned to the rustling bush, Toothless and Hiccup tensed for an attack, but listening closely Scathach could hear heavy, but very human breathing coming from the foliage. One of the Riders then. "And apparently they're still good at it."

Scathach rolled her eyes at that comment, a dragon is a dragon. Even trained dogs will disobey or even turn on their masters if treated poorly, and no matter the training a hunter's instincts never fade forever.

Toothless prepared an attack, but Ruffnut emerged from the bush with her hands up. "No! Don't shoot!" she shouted, seeing that it was Ruffnut Toothless swallowed his blast.

"Ruff! You okay?" he asked, the relief in finding at least one of his friends was blatant in the sagging motion of his shoulders.

"No, I'm not okay. I'm cracking under the pressure." That much is obvious.

"Ruff, you're fine. Have you seen any of the others?"

Ruff's voice took on a high pitch very frantic tone, "You said split up!"

Hiccup tried to soothe her, "I know, but -" Snarling from above cut Hiccup off, "Get down!" He, Ruffnut and Toothless moved behind the bush Ruffnut had taken shelter in. Hiccup waited until the dragons passed over head before motioning for Ruffnut to get onto Toothless. "We need to find the rest of the riders. Fast."

Scathach watched the three fly off, before returning her gaze to her mirror piece. Let's see what the others are up to.

The image showed Fishlegs and Tuffnut sneaking through the forest, the sound of Meatlugs wings caused the two to look up. "Meatlug! There's my Meatlug!" Is that idiot trying to get himself killed! Luckily Tuffnut tackled Fishlegs behind a couple of trees before the dragon could see them. At least one of them has some common sense."What are you doing?"

"What are you doing? Trying to get us a one-way ticket to Valhalla?" he demanded.

Fishlegs ignored the admonishment, "My dragon is still in there, Tuffnut. I can reason with her."

"Did you see the look in her eyes? That was the look of a killer. I know this because I see it in my own reflection. Pure killer." Scathach raised an amused eyebrow, Do you now?

Fishlegs jumped at the unexpected shout from his companion, but was quickly shushed by Ruffnut. I'll be sure to keep an eye on that one and his sister if nothing else the two seem pretty entertaining.

Scathach moved onto another image that confused her, why on earth are they watching an empty clearing?

"I should've never trusted that dragon." Ah, that would explain it. Snotlout griped from one bush, "The way he looks at me sometimes, I know he thinks of me as a diner, or a light lunch, at least." he grunted in irritation, "I should have picked a less ferocious dragon, like a Nadder. "

"Snotlout, if you don't shut your piehole, I'm gonna leap out into the open and plead with them to eat us both." Astrids annoyed voice came from another bush.

"Shh! I hear something."

"They're actually hunting us. How did it come to this?" asked Astrid.

"Let's just hope Hiccup and Toothless get them before they get us." Scathach giggled at the boys frightened tone.

As the sun rose higher Scathach found her way back to Hiccup, Ruffnut and Toothless, to check on them one last time in person. Grim would come looking for her soon, she had spent enough time watching the group in person and as long as the small dragons continued to follow them then she could keep an eye on them as she worked. Taking one last look at the two humans and dragon she departed to the most likely place Grim would take the dragons for safe keeping.

Scathach kept the mirror piece around her neck attuned to the dragon following Hiccup and Toothless. As the groups leader they would ultimately find their way back to him or vice versa.

Scathach traveled as fast as she could and breathed a sigh of relief when she made it to her destination without running into the feral dragons, she did not think the group would take it well if she were to harm one. And if she wanted to approach them as allies then she needed to make a good impression, once she checked on the dragons and let Grim know she was alright, the two would follow the group, together, back to their home. She would make a plan to approach the group, offer a deal, and maybe if their base is big enough, then relocate their base with the islands dragons. Scathach highly doubted they truly knew what horrors the world outside their Viking village held, they would need someone with that experience to caution them, if nothing else she could offer medical aid when they needed it. Although she was in the dark when it came to dragons, humans were another more familiar matter.

Scathach was broken from her thoughts, and dropped down to tuck into a ball rolling away from the large mass that attempted to tackle her. Springing back to her feet she turned to meet the next tackle with open arms, "I missed you too, Grim." Grim cooed as his human rubbed his purple scales, he was beginning to grow worried when she had not returned that night, but he trusted her to stay safe and remained with the others to protect them.

"How are they?" she asked, Grim replied with a grumpy growl, "Wouldn't leave you alone, huh?" Grim snorted and trotted on ahead of his rider, Scathach tried to hide her giggles at the grumpy dragons reaction.

Scathach followed Grim to the secluded cove the two had discovered when they explored the island; the entrance was blocked off by the forest and the pool of water led directly to the ocean, so any sea dragons could stay hydrated. Looking around Scathach was greeted to the sight of three recovering dragons; one red dragon that could change its scales to match its surroundings and drooled acid, part of its tail had been torn off. The second, a colossal dragon with an almost snake like thinness and razor thin wings, one of which was badly ripped and lastly a beautiful four headed, two tailed dragon, with a leg caught in some sort of trap. Many of the dragons that were brought to her were caught in some sort of trap or had escaped one, but was badly injured as a result.

Grim must have taken the others to the glen, for safekeeping. The islands glen was even more secluded than the cove, with a fresh water stream, so the dragons didn't have to leave except for food. She scratched the dragons chin for his thoughtfulness, "Good job Grim." The dragon happily accepted the praise, before leaving her side.

"Hello again!" she called out to the dragons, each of their heads swiveled to their caretaker in acknowledgement of her return, "Sorry, I had to leave, but some people came to the island and I wanted to make sure they didn't mean you any harm." Scathach didn't really know if dragons could completely understand her, but she did know that Grim always knew what she was saying, so she simply talked to all the dragons she met as if they were human. "They didn't come here for us, but they are causing a ruckus so I am going to check on everyone and then go back to keep an eye on them!" She announced.

The dragons seemed to accept the excuse and watched her expectantly. She spotted Grim next to the four headed dragon, Guess I should start there. She made her way over to the dragon as it lay by the water, its injured leg still bandaged, but Scathach could see some tearing, as if the dragon had tried to remove it. Scathach smiled, So that's why Grim is so grumpy, he probably spent the whole time stopping the dragon from removing the bandages. Said dragon was giving the four headed dragon a scolding look, only three of the heads were cowed though, the fourth simply stuck its strange tongues out at the scolding dragon.

"And how are we doing today, hmm?" she asked the dragon, all four heads turned to her and gave their leg a pointed look, "I know the salve and bandages are itchy, but if you want to avoid infection then it needs to stay on." The heads gave a simultaneous huff of aggravation, as she bent down to remove the bandages. "Lets see how it's doing and I will give you fresh bandages. Fresh ones won't itch as much."

Scathachs hand went to her side where here satchel of medical supplies would be, but it wasn't there. That's strange it was with me when I began watching the group. A soft nudge to her side brought her out of her thoughts to see Grim holding her satchel in his teeth. "Thank you, Grim. I must have dropped it." she smiled at the dragon and accepted the bag.

Once the old bandages were removed she examined the leg. The trap she had removed was reminiscent of a bear trap, with a simple metal mouth with teeth, but what worried her was what coated the teeth. Whatever it was had made the dragon sluggish and barely able to hold up its heads. She had removed what she could of the substance, using what was on the trap to make an antidote to place on the teeth marks to prevent infection, the dragon had arrived three days ago. In that time it was no longer sluggish and there was no sign of infection, so the dragon could soon leave, or choose to stay to help collect other dragons, like some of her other patients had.

Once she placed a simple salve to help improve healing she rebandaged the leg, collecting the old bandages to be burned later, four heads began to nuzzle her affectionately, causing Scathach to giggle in delight. The four heads only stopped after a warning snarl from Grim. The purple dragon nudged her away from the over affectionate dragon and towards the largest of the three, which sat patiently waiting his/her turn. This dragon had been with her the longest of the three, and was the most worrying when it had first arrived.

The dragon had no legs, only a large set of wings, bigger than its own body, with a small set of talons on both tips; she theorized that the wing had been torn in a fight with another dragon and had been left for dead. It was then found by three dragons she had previously healed and brought to her, at first she didn't know if she could do anything, but after seeing the sullen and resigned looks from the dragon and Grim she promised to do everything she could to heal the wing. Even if it meant resorting to her some of her parents methods, no matter how distasteful they may be. Making her way over to the dragon she stuffed the old bandages into a separate pouch.

"Hey, there. You ready?" The dragon eagerly presented her with his/her wing, she placed her hand gently on the long jagged scarring scales and gave the dragon a smile. "This should be the last time, after this it should be completely healed and you can fly again." The dragon gave a happy purr at the statement.

She gestured Grim forward. Gingerly he placed the talon of his right wing on her open hand and made a clean shallow slice along her palm, Thank you she mouthed, she knew how much he disliked seeing her hurt, but her blood was necessary.

Taking a deep breath she held her bleeding hand above the scarring scales and waited for the blood to drip onto the scales, before closing her eyes and speaking. "Bain úsáid as m'anam agus d'fhuil chun an corp seo a leigheas. Lig dó neart nua a tharraingt as mo chuid féin. Agus déan an fheoil as an nua." Scathach felt the familiar heat gather inside the wound, the warmth letting her know that the spell was working. Opening her eyes she watched her blood slither across the wing leaving new darker scales in its wake, and after a few minutes, she also began to feel the strain on her body, but pushed past the strain to finish helping the dragon. It had been a week since she had first begun using this spell and she was not about to let it all go to waste.

Noticing the girls legs begin to shake Grim placed his head under her chest and free arm, she glanced briefly at the dragon and nodded her thanks. After another minute she canceled the spell and leaned heavily on Grim, all three watched as the wound on her palm healed as the last warmth of the spell faded away. Both watched the dragon flex the wing tentatively, and with an encouraging nod from her, he/she took off into the air; Scathach stared in awe of the dragons wings, the powerful wind resulting from them would have pushed her over if not for Grim's support. Watching the dragon rise up with the sun behind its back helped to alleviate her worry over using her parents magic, if it could help something as beautiful as a dragon then it couldn't be all bad. Right?

End of Part 2

Spell Translation : Use my soul and blood to heal this body. Let it draw new strength from my own. And make the flesh anew.


	3. Chapter 3

A Different Take on Dragons: Race To The Edge

Summary: What if the island Astrid and Fishlegs chose was not as deserted as they believed? What if the island had become a sanctuary for injured dragons? And what if the dragon protecting it was a familiar face? Join the Riders as they make a new ally in their fight against the Dragon Hunters.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my OC. Everything else belongs to Dreamworks

Chapter 3: "A Grim Retreat" Part 3

"Hiccup! Run!" Tuffnuts shout startled Scathach and the red dragon as she inspected its healing tail. Once she had regained some of her strength she moved to the last dragon, with Grim supporting her.

Scathach grabbed her mirror piece and was greeted to the sight of an out of breath Fishlegs and Tuffnut, and two confused humans and dragon.

"Why? What's the matter?" asked Hiccup. He eyed both his friends for any injuries, but apart from exhaustion they seemed to be fine.

Fishlegs answered once he caught his breath, "Hookfang. He landed in the woods and is coming this way!" His statement was confirmed a second later as a blast of fire erupted behind them.

"Oh, he certainly is!" The five turned to run away, but were intercepted by Snotlout and Astrid.

"Run!"

"Barf and Belch are right behind us!" Yelled Astrid as the two joined the frightened group.

"We played right into their hands." growled Hiccup.

"Technically, dragons don't have hands, so that expression doesn't - Maybe "We fell right into their talons?" Even out of breath the male twin found the energy to try and relieve the tense situation.

"The point is, we're about to be…" Hookfang, Barf and Belch leaped into the clearing with matching snarls of anger, "...surrounded." Hiccup and Toothless led the charge away from the two dragons, but had to backtrack when Meatlug blocked the way. " Other way!" He shouted. Stormfly then blocked the last exit, causing the group to gather together in the center of the trap.

"Hiccup, how long are we gonna wait until we make our next move?" Scathach could see the pain in Astrid's eyes as she watched the dragons close in.

"What 'next move'? I'm out of next moves!" Hearing his riders panic Toothless reared back onto his hind legs and let loose a roar, firing off a shot towards each approaching dragon and then one to the ground in front of the group, creating a cloud of dust to hide the groups retreat. "That way!" Hiccup pointed to an opening one of the shots had created, the humans and dragon didn't waste the opportunity and ran through the gap, the other dragons were quick to follow.

Scathach recognized where they were going, if they kept on their current path they would come upon a deadend cave. Don't go into the… "There! A cave!" The group ran into the cave, the small dragons following them gathered around an opening in the cave ceiling. Once everyone was inside Toothless fired at the top of the entrance, the falling rocks blocking the entrance.

"Hiccup, that's not going to hold for long. We need to find another way out of here." Fishlegs panic was shared amongst the whole group, And that is why you never run into a cave unless you know it has another way out.

Unbeknownst to the humans, but not Scathach, Toothless began to scratch.

Noticing everyone's, especially Snotlouts, angry faces Hiccup said in exasperation, "Just say it. I know what you're thinking."

Surprisingly it was Snotlout and not Astrid that voiced the groups thoughts, "All I'm saying is we wouldn't be in this position if your tyrannical behaviour, due to your obsessive need to one up Viggo, had not driven our poor dragons to the brink of insanity. There, I said it." Snotlout crossed his arms to punctuate his statement.

Everyone was stunned at the boys summarization, "Wow." said Tuffnut, "That was both dramatically impressive and logically sound."

"Thank you, Tuffy." Tuffy?

"You all think this was my fault?" Astrid was the only one to look away, while the others faces showed exactly what they thought. "Okay, well, how about this? If the dragons have been driven to the brink of madness, as you say, why is Toothless completely unaffected?"

You might want to rethink that statement. While the riders argued, Scathachs gaze never left the scratching dragon that seemed to grow more and more agitated.

Tuffnut was the first to notice the agitated dragon and thought it best to point it out. "Great argument. That would be just as logically sound, if it weren't for one small thing." The group followed his pointing finger and finally noticed the threat blocking their exit.

Never turn your back on a potential threat, even if they are considered a friend.

"Oh, great." Hiccups voice was one of resigned acceptance. Toothless began to advance, pushing the group deeper into the cave. "Look at me. It's me, it's Hiccup." Hiccups voice wasn't as panicked as it should have been when faced with a murderous dragon, "Whatever's going on, we can get through this." Toothless kept advancing, "Just talk to me. Toothless just relax." He pleaded.

Seeing no way out Tuffnut started searching his person for a weapon, "I am not going out this way." He began to fling whatever he had on his person, including his helmet and lastly a white substance. Surprisingly it was the last one that gave the dragon pause, even becoming irritated enough to backed away from the group, and then roll onto his back and begin reithing.

Yet again the group was surprised, "Woah! What in the name of Thor was that?" asked Hiccup looking to his friend.

"That, my friend, was salt. Just a pinch." Tuffnut puffed up at the fact that he had saved his friends.

"Salt/Salt!" Exclaimed everyone.

Tuffnut deflated a little at that, "Hey, I didn't see any of you stepping up, so I went with what I had and what I had was salt." Scathach gave a nod at the statement, when faced with no way out there is no shame in doing whatever you can to get out alive, even if it doesn't make sense at the time.

"And you fed us that stuff!" Snotlout said incredulously and a little angry.

Any other comment was cut off by a high pitch sound emanating from the wriggling dragon. After a few seconds three small creatures were thrown from the shaking head, Hiccup and Fishlegs moved to inspect the creatures, "Did you see that?" asked Tuffnut, an excited gleam appearing in his eyes, "It jumped out of Toothless' skin. That was awesome. Put it on me! Put it on me!"

Everyone ignored Tuffnut and focused on Fishlegs who had bent down to grab one of the creatures, "Of course. A Grimora. That's why the dragons were hunting us."

"A Grim-what-a?" was Snotlout's elegant reply.

Fishlegs sighed, "Grimora. It's a rare parasite that attach themselves to dragons and release a toxin that causes them to turn wild." Scathach rolled her eyes, no matter how intelligent dragons are, they can still be swayed by their instincts. The toxin simply overrides\d their higher brain function and made them act solely on their instincts. "But Grimora only live in freshwater. "

"The Lagoon/Lagoon." said Astrid, "Our dragons must have picked them up when we went swimming."

And Toothless picked them up when he and he and Hiccup fell in.

"They chewed of their saddles to get the Grimoras off them. Not because they were rebelling. See? And you thought I was working them too hard." Everyone including Toothless gave Hiccup a dead-pan look.

There is definitely a story there.

Hiccup sighed, "Okay, you're right. I was working them too hard. Point taken."

"Okay, so now all we need to do is find the rest of our dragons and throw salt on them." Ruffnuts tone wasn't sarcastic, but it was close.

"You know that could work." said Fishlegs. With what salt?

"Sorry, gonna have to disagree with you there, Fishy. Out of salt. Used the last of it on T and then, you know, the salt-crusted sea bass, which, I might add, no one liked." Tuffnut crossed his arms and raised his head, "Everybody likes salt now, but when it was on the sea bass...Nu-uh."

After a second of thought Hiccup perked up, "Well then, we're just gonna have to lead them to the next best salt location."

"Lead them? They're trying to eat us. Did you forget that?" snapped Snotlout.

That's exactly the point.

Hiccup shook his head, "Nope, just don't let them catch you." Mounting Toothless he faced the blocked off exit. "Okay, bud. Plasma Blast!"

Following the command Toothless cleared away the rocks with one blast, and everyone left the cave. The small dragons quickly moving to get a better vantage point. Looking around and not seeing the dragons, Snotlout sighed in relief, "Thank Thor, they're gone."

Scathach smirked, Think again, kid.

The dragons slowly climbed down the side of the mountain and once they were close enough roared, startling them.

"Meatlug!"

"Hookfang!"

"Remember the plan!" reminded Hiccup, but the others had already begun to run off, "You'll be fine as long as you remember…" He caught the tail end of Meatlug chasing after Fishlegs, "...plan."

The six small dragons followed each human and dragon duo.

Scathach sighed and looked away from the mirror piece and realized that all the dragons had crowded around her to watch. She began to giggle at the curious dragons and gently shooed them away. "Since you're all feeling better, Grim and I will follow the humans." The dragons grumbled, disappointed that they could not keep watching silly humans.

"Don't worry. Once we know where they are based we'll come back and pack everything up. Scathach turned to the largest dragon, "Could you please let everyone know that we might be moving very soon?" the large dragon simply spread its wings and took off, the other two dragons following.

Grim nudged Scathachs shoulder with his head, "Okay, Grim." The dragon met his human's eyes, "What do you think? Dramatic? Or Discrete?" The only answer she recieved was a playful growl, "Dramatic it is then."

Scathach mounted Grim and the two set off, using her mirror piece the two easily found the group, gathered on the beach. Hiccup and Toothless were both wet. The two landed next to the six little dragons, who eagerly crowded around the two, chirping as quietly as they could. Each trying to "talk" over the other and inform not only Scathach, but Grim of all they had seen. "I know, I know. You've all seen so much, but you must be tired. Go and join the others to rest, it's going to be a big day tomorrow, so your going to need all your strength. Once the little dragons had taken off the two turned their attention back onto the beach and the group.

Grim and Scathach watched the riders take off and waited until they were almost gone before following. The two stayed in the clouds to avoid detection from the group, while most would not be able to see the two were used to flying in storms, so clouds on a calm day were easy.

The flight was rather boring, but once they had reached their destination, any and all boredom fled the girl. Woah. These guys have some serious time on their hands. Shrugging her shoulders Scathach directed Grim around the island, no need to go in the front, besides she needed to catch them off guard.

Time Skip

"Aw, man I don't know about you guys, but I'm beat." said Hiccup as the group made their way to the center hut for dinner.

"Your beat? Your Beat!" yelled Snotlout, "You didn't spend all day running from angry dragons, if anything you should feel the least tired."

"Your right. Again I'm sorry you guys, if I hadn't pushed the dragons and you, then none of that would have happened." the group seemed to accept the apology so Hiccup tried to brighten their mood. "At least dad and Gobber made diner for us. Makes it a lot easier to get to bed faster."

"I don't know." said Fishlegs, "No offense, Hiccup, but your dad and Gobber aren't the best cooks."

"Better than Ruffnut though." said Tuffnut, the comment earning him a smack from said twin.

Dinner was a subdued affair, everyone too tired for conversation. So once everyone had eaten they adjourned to their huts. Toothless and Hiccup slowly made their was to their hut, "I don't know about you bud, but I'm beat." Toothless gave his human a coo of agreement.

Entering their hut the two stopped in their tracks at the sight of a person decked out in purple scaled armor, hood and mask, leaning back in a chair, with their feet up on the table and twirling around a curved black blade. But what really made the hairs on the backs of Hiccups neck stand on end was the Skrill purring contently beside her and the red eyes watching them from underneath the hood.

"So, what exactly is this place?"

End of "A Grim Retreat"


	4. Chapter 4

A Different Take on Dragons: Race To The Edge

Summary: What if the island Astrid and Fishlegs chose was not as deserted as they believed? What if the island had become a sanctuary for injured dragons? And what if the dragon protecting it was a familiar face? Join the Riders as they make a new ally in their fight against the Dragon Hunters.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my OC. Everything else belongs to Dreamworks

Previously: The diner was a subdued affair, everyone too tired for conversation. So once everyone had eaten they adjourned to their huts. Toothless and Hiccup slowly made their was to their hut, "I don't know about you bud, but I'm beat." Toothless gave his human a coo of agreement.

Entering their hut the two stopped in their tracks at the sight of a person decked out in purple scaled armor, hood and mask, leaning back in a chair, with their feet up on the table and twirling around a curved black blade. But what really made the hairs on the back of Hiccups neck stand on end was the Skrill purring contently beside said figure and the glowing red eyes watching them from underneath a hood.

"So, what exactly is this place?"

Chapter 4: Enter the Skrill Rider

Shink - Shink - Shink

It took all of Scathach's will power to not laugh at the look of shock on Hiccup's face watching her spin one of her Karambits in her hand. Her attention changed focus from human to dragon when Toothless snarled at Grim, her friend simply ignored Toothless in favor of placing his head in Scathachs lap to be pet, which further added to the other Dragons hostility. She wasn't trying to intimidate them, she was nervous and having a blade in her hand eased the anxiety of introducing herself to new people. She had never been a 'people person' even as a child, people tended to avoid her, so she in turn avoided them, it made her life easier and added fuel to her bloody reputation. So introducing herself to someone who wasn't a potential client, was nerve racking for her, but she couldn't let that show. Never let them see you sweat.

Shink - Shink - Shink

It was Grim who broke the tension, somewhat, by unfurling himself from the floor and stretching his wings, casting a great shadow across Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup was momentarily distracted by the mysterious dragon, he and Fishlegs never had a chance to study the dragon up close. Shaking the thoughts of observing the dragon from his head before he got lost in his fascination.

"Who are you and how did you get in here?" demanded Hiccup taking a step forward only to be stopped by a growl from Grim, who stepped between the approaching human and Scathach, Toothless retaliated by shoving Hiccup behind him and answering the growl with one of his own. The protective gesture on Grim's part earned a look of surprise from Hiccup, why is he so surprised? Grim is an incredibly protective dragon.

Scathach ignored the growling dragons and tutted, "Tsk, Tsk. Didn't anyone ever tell you, its very rude to ask another for their name before giving your own."

Shink - Shink - Shink

"No sorry, I must have missed that lesson." he snarked.

Scathach shrugged, "The door was open. A universal sign of Welcome."

"You didn't answer my questions. Who are you? And how did you get in here?" Asked Hiccup, sending Grim a cautious look when the dragon settled back down, this time in front of his human.

Scathach stopped spinning her Karambit and sighed, "As I said the door was open. And as for my name it is Scathach, and this is my companion, Grim. But it would appear that you are already know each other." She stated and began to pet the scales on Grim's head as he continued to watch the fuming black dragon in amusement.

"Companion?" he asked incredulously.

Looking up from Grim's scales Scathachs eyes met Hiccups, the boy surprised her when he matched her stare, "Yes, Grim has been my companion for many months now." Scathach couldn't keep the fondness for Grim out of her eyes, and Hiccup took the time to study the girl before him or more importantly how she touched the usually violent and aggressive dragon currently smirking at Toothless.

He watched her half gloved hands glide reverently over the dragon's scales, and looking more closely at the glove he noticed that they matched the scales they were gliding over. In fact, casting his eyes over the rest of the girl he could see that all of her clothing (armor) matched the Skrill's scales. Did she make armor out of scales?

"Stand down bud." Toothless looked to his rider questioningly, "It's ok." Hiccup placed his hand on his friend's head in a show of comfort. "They're not going to hurt us. Are you?" the last bit was addressed to Scathach and she shook her head.

"No, I merely wish to talk about a deal." giving Scathach and Grim one last look Toothless backed down with a grumble.

Scathach put her Karambit away and placed her feet back on the floor, to face Hiccup and Toothless.

"Today your friends and your dragons journeyed to our island and had quite the adventure. And I want to say, first and foremost, Thank you." this confused Hiccup, "If you hadn't discovered the Grimora in the Lagoon, sooner or later one of the islands dragons would have become infected and I would have been forced to put him or her down. Now that I know they are there I will find a way to get rid of them, before any of the islands dragons become infected."

"What other dragons? Astrid said that the island was deserted, and we didn't run into any while we were there." asked Hiccup.

"That is because Grim took them to the other side of the island to keep you from finding them."

"But why would you do that? If you saw us then you would have realized that we are friends to dragons, we would never hurt them." Hiccup countered

"All I saw were six strangers playing in a Lagoon with five dragons wearing saddles, and then said dragons began chasing them around the island, intending to sink their teeth into your flesh. My priority was to keep the islands dragons safe, from the potential threat, by monitoring you and your friends while you were on the island."

Hiccup could understand the logic of that, but the idea of being watched without his knowledge didn't sit well with him. "Why are you protecting them?"

Scathach gestured for him to take a seat, and Hiccup realized that not only was he still standing, but he was really tired, "Grim and I had been following a cluster of storms, the last dissapaiting over that particular island, so we decided to stop and rest before going to find another. Exploring the island we found a dragon that was lying in a clearing, coming closer we saw that he or she was barely breathing and judging from their state had mostlikley been there for days. Being unable to move, it had become, dehydrated and hungry, at first I was going to leave the dragon. Grim was the only dragon I had ever met and he had never been sick, so what could I do. But then the dragon saw me, it looked into my eyes, and there wasn't any sadness or anger only a plea for help."

Looking at the boy before her she could see the understanding in his eyes, "So I did. I didn't know if it would work, but I tried anyway, and to my surprise the dragon got better. Once the dragon was healed he or she left and I thought that was the end of it, Grim and I would leave and find another storm. But the day Grim and I planned to leave the same dragon returned, carrying another, this dragon wasn't sick, but had been badly injured, most likely from a trap or weapon." Scathach saw the recognition in HIccups eyes, So he knows whose been setting the traps. "Again I treated the dragon and thankfully they made a full recovery too. After that, more dragons were being brought to Grim and I to be healed, and while most left afterwards, others stayed to bring more sick and injured dragons to us. How could I leave, just knowing that I was helping Grim's kin was enough to get me to stay, but…" Hiccup was surprised by the look of reverence in Scathachs eyes as she looked at the Skrill,"...Grim saved my life. Gave me another chance I certainly don't deserve, caring for the dragons brought to me seems to me the best way to repay what a dragon had done for me."

"Why don't you deserve a second chance?" asked Hiccup.

Scathach met Hiccups sympathetic look with one of indifference and waved the question away, "That doesn't matter. I came here tonight to offer you and your friends a deal."

"What kind of deal?" he asked.

Scathach thought for a moment, "Well, it's not so much a deal, as it is a trade."

"Of what?" he demanded.

Although he couldn't see it through her mask, Scathach smiled at the caution in his voice, "So far I have been able to help each dragon that has been brought to me, but sooner or later a I will not be able to save them, I do not know enough about their anatomy. It's a miracle that I haven't lost a dragon yet. So what I propose is this; I relocate the dragons from my island to yours, in doing so you will teach me what you know of dragon physiology. " Scathach waited for that to sink in before continuing. "And in exchange I am offering you my services."

At his confused look she explained, "It is obvious that while you are well versed in dragons you and your friends lack any knowledge pertaining to the world outside your village." She held up a hand to stop his protests, "Is this or is this not the first time you have left your village for such a long time?" Hiccup gave a hesitant nod, "And in that time you have made a few enemies, your biggest one being someone named Viggo."

Hiccup tensed at the name, "You know Vigo?"

Scathach shook her head, "No I do not, but I can." Hiccups eyebrows flew to his brow, "I may be new to this part of the world, but people are people no matter where you are, you just have to know how to 'talk' to them. So I ask you Hiccup," Hiccups eyes widened at the use of his name, "Will you accept the trade?"

Hiccup took a minute to evaluate the offer, if this Scathach was telling the truth and she could get them information on Vigo, it would help them gain an edge. They could also be helping dragons that had been injured by hunters, but if she was lying and had been sent by Vigo then this could all be a trap.

Hiccup studied the Skrill closely, there was no harness or saddle or any form of restraint to compel the dragon to obey her, and she carried no bag with her so the two hadn't traveled far. How does she stay on his back? Ignoring the question for now, Hiccup met Scathachs eyes, The eyes can tell you a lot about a person, son, the lips lie, but the eyes tell all. Hiccup smiled at the voice of his father, while her eyes were unnerving they were nothing like Vigos. His eyes held arrogance and the belief that he was above others, Scathachs eyes were hard, he didn't know what had made her eyes that way, but he could still see the kindness in them.

"I need to talk to the others, before making a decision." Hiccup hoped she would accept the offer.

"Of course. Talk with them in the morning and tell them my offer, if you accept, return to the island and go to the Lagoon. That is where we will be waiting." Hiccup sighed in relief at her acceptance, noticing the boys fatigue she stood up, making Toothless tense, "You've had a long day you need rest. And I have bandages to change if the pesky dragon hasn't chewed them off already."

Hiccup smiled at that, but had to ask, "And what if we don't accept the offer?"

Scathach shrugged, "Then you'll have wasted an opportunity of increasing the chances of defeating your enemy, and I will have to look into other methods of education." She headed for the door only to be stopped by Hiccup's voice.

"Why didn't you help us on the island? It would have been a lot easier." he asked.

She smiled, "And miss the chance of watching you and your friends run around the island screaming your heads off. Not on your life. Besides, I wanted to see what you were like when nobody was watching." Hiccup gave her a strange look.

"That is really creepy and uncomfortable."he admitted

"Get some sleep." Scathach looked to Toothless who had watched the discussion in silence, "You too." Grim stretched his wings again before following his friend, but not without giving Toothless a smirk. Toothless huffed at the look and the Skrill made a sort of laughing noise, once he was by Scathachs side she placed her hand on his head and the two disappeared inky black wisps.

Hiccups eyes widened and moved to inspect the area where the two had been standing, waving away the last bits of the wisps. "Well, bud. How do you think the others are going to take this?" Toothless just gave his rider a deadpan look, "Yeah, me either."

End of Chapter 4 The Skrill Rider Part 1


	5. Chapter 5

A Different Take on Dragons: Race To The Edge

Summary: What if the island Astrid and Fishlegs chose was not as deserted as they believed? What if the island had become a sanctuary for injured dragons? And what if the dragon protecting it was a familiar face? Join the Riders as they make a new ally in their fight against the Dragon Hunters.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my OC. Everything else belongs to Dreamworks

Previously: "Well, bud. How do you think the others are going to take this?" Toothless just gave his rider a deadpan look, "Yeah, me either."

Chapter 5: Enter the Skrill Rider Part 2

"ARE YOU INSANE!"

Hiccup winced at the volume of exclamation, he knew they would be upset at the fact that, not only was there a stranger in his hut, but that he had sat down with said stranger and talked about a deal.

"Guys." he tried, but they didn't seem to here him

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Astrid, Snotlout and his Dad

"Was the Skrill really with her?" Fishlegs

"Did she really disappear in a cloud of black smoke?" the Twins

"Was her armor really made out of dragon scales?" Gobber

Hiccup sighed, "Guys…"

Astrid didn't let up shouting at him for being an idiot and not coming to get her or the others, his father agreeing with the angry girl and probably what surprised him the most, was how upset Snotlout was for the same reasons. He knew that their relationship had grown over the years, he also knew that his cousin had come to respect him, but he hadn't realized just how much his cousin had come to care for him. And he was honestly touched, Hiccup gave Toothless a gesture, the dragon let loose a quiet roar to quiet them. Once he was sure he had their attention he answered their questions.

"No, contrary to what you think, I am not insane."Before either Astrid, his cousin or his father could comment he looked to Fishlegs, "Yes, the Skrill was with her, his name is Grim." Fishlegs perked up at the information, but Hiccup moved on before he could ask more questions, "And yes she did just disappear in a cloud of black smoke with the skrill."

The twins looked excited at the news, everyone rolled their eyes at the two. "And as far as I could tell her armor was covered in the Skrills scales." Gobber hummed at the information, and settled down to think about how he could maybe do the same. "Anyway, we need to talk about this deal…"

"There is no deal Hiccup." said Astrid with a tone of finality, "This random girl breaks into your hut, with the Skrill. The most dangerous dragon we have ever faced. Claims to be caring for injured dragons, dragons we never saw on the DESERTED island and also claims she can get us information on Vigo. She's lying Hiccup and probably working for Vigo."

"But what if she isn't? You didn't see the way she and the Skill looked at each other, it's the same way I look at Toothless, they have a bond. Not one created through subjugation, but through respect and trust, I see each of you looking at your dragons with the same respect and trust. No one working for a man like Vigo could ever look at a dragon like that, like one of us."

Hiccup looked to his Father, "You told me once that 'the eyes tell all'." Stoick looked surprised at the notion that Hiccup remembered him saying that, it was before he met Toothless. "Well, when I looked into her eyes, I saw how much she cares about the Skrill, Grim. You can't completely hide something like."

"Wow. That was really deep, especially after only one meeting." said Tuffnut

"Yeah." began Ruffnut, "Very deep. How do we know the two of you only talked?"

Hiccup and Astrid blushed at the implication, "RUFFNUT" shouted Stoick. The girl merely shrugged her shoulders.

Fishlegs ever the peacekeeper stepped in, before Astrid could reach for her axe, "Are you seriously implying that HICCUP was…" Fishlegs blushed, "... intimate with a random stranger? Really Hiccup?"

"And what that's supposed to mean?" Hiccup flinched a little at the glare Astrid gave him for the question.

"What he's saying dear cousin is that 'Dragon Conqueror' or not, you're still you. And the only girl you've got a thing for is Astrid, so there is no way you would sleep with some random girl."

"That isn't exactly how I put it, but he's got a point." agreed Fishlegs.

Both Astrid and Hiccup blushed, though Hiccup more out of embarrassment than anger like Astrid. "We are getting off topic!" she yelled.

"Yes, we are." agreed Stoick. He knew his son wasn't that type of man, they needed to focus and like always the Thorston twins were trying to cause as much chaos as possible.

"Which is?" asked Tuffnut, "No seriously, what were we talking about?"

"Aaaah! We were talking about how we are not going to be taking the deal because it is obviously a trap set by Vigo." she ground out.

"Oh… I thought we were taking the deal. I'm mean the girl had the Skrill with her, but she didn't blow up Hiccup or any of us…" the others shivered at the disappointed looks on the twins' faces.

"...And all she is asking is that we teach her how to help dragons, and if we do then she will help us with Vigo." continued Ruffnut. "Don't you guys remember the beautiful chaos and destruction the Skrill caused all the times we faced it. And that was without a rider…"

Tuffnut followed his sisters logic, "...A rider which willingly came to us for advice and an offer of help. Think about how much more awesome we'll be if they did start helping us. With the Skrill on our side, Vigo won't be so quick to attack, after all it's probably the last of its kind, like Toothless. "

"Not to mention the fact that they disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. She can obviously use magic so she could have easily hidden the dragons from us without us seeing them." added Ruffnut

Everyone including the dragons stared at the twins in shock.

"What in the name of Thor was that?" asked Snotlout

The twins smirked, "That my friend was solid logic. Yeah!" The twins banged their helmets and subsequently their heads together.

"Actually. There were a couple holes in your logic, but…and I can't believe I'm about to say this… The twins do have a point."said Fishlegs

"Thanks Fishy." Fishlegs frowned at Tuffnuts nickname for him.

"If she was telling the truth we could be helping a lot of dragons, get a chance to study a Skrill up close and maybe get some information on Viggo."

"Don't forget the magic."said Snotlout.

Fishlegs rolled his eyes, "There is no such thing as magic. Hiccup was tired, she took advantage of that and used a smoke bomb to conceal their exit."

"There's no such thing as a person having red eyes, but she did." pointed out Snotlout, Fishlegs shrugged.

"A trick of the light."

"What light it was the middle of the night!"

"SHUT UP!" yelled Astrid before their argument could escalate. "Are you seriously saying we should take the deal?" asked Astrid

Fishlegs shook his head, "Not exactly."

"What'd you mean Fishlegs?" asked Stoick.

"I mean, let's go back to Lagoon and meet with her. That way we can see if she is telling the truth. If she is then we can discuss the deal and if she isn't then we say no."

"You can't be serious? Of course she's lying…"

"Oh, will you all quite arguing!" Everyone turned to look at the one armed Blacksmith that was currently picking his ear. "Just go to the island, if she's lying you leave, if she's not then we have a new ally against the hunters and Vigo. So hurry up and go, Stoick and I can defend the edge until you get back, if you don't hurry she might not be there."

"Gobber…" began Stoick only for the blacksmith to cut him off.

"Hiccup knows what he's doing." He turned to Hiccup and gave him an encouraging nod, "He's always been a good judge of character, If he thinks we should give this girl a chance then we will…"Hiccup smiled at the trust his mentor was showing, "... And if he's wrong he'll get them all killed." Hiccup frowned at the last bit.

"Gobber!" shouted Stoick, exasperated with his old friends frankness.

"What?" he asked

"Killed?" whimpered Fishlegs.

"Yeah, see that's a deal breaker for me." said Snotlout, not looking too thrilled at the prospect of dying.

"If you guys don't want to go I won't make you, but I am going to meet her. We can't let an opportunity like this go to waste."

"Of course we're going with you. Even if it is a trap we work best together." Astrid elbowed Snotlout.

"What?" Astrid glared, "Oh, I mean Of Course we're all going with you. Wouldn't miss it for the world." Snotlout grumbled.

"I know what you mean Snotman. Just imagine it the Skrill shocking us so bad our skin melts off. How cool would that be?" everyone ignored the twins.

Stoick sighed at his sons stubbornness, seems like he did inherit something from me after all, "All right son, you and the others go, but be careful. I've heard the name Scathach before, and while I'm sure the one you met is too young to be her, you should still be cautious."

"Which Scathach are you talking about?" asked Hiccup.

Stoick shook his head, "It doesn't matter. You and the others go, Gobbers right if you don't hurry she might not be there."

Hiccup gave his father a look that clearly said, there's something your not telling me and when I get back I expect answers.

"Come on, let's go. It shouldn't take us long to get there." While mounting Toothless he looked to his father and Gobber, "If we aren't back by nightfall send help."

"We will son don't worry."

And with that the others mounted their dragons and they left. Stoick watched them go.

"You don't really think its her do you Stoick? That was years ago, this girl would have been too young." asked Gobber giving his friend a strange look.

"I don't know Gobber. The way Hiccup described the smoke was very familiar."

"Even if your right, she couldn't have been more than a child."

Stoick sighed, "I guess we'll just have to find out if they bring her here."

Time Jump!

Scathach was nervously pacing, "What if they don't take the deal?" the question was directed to the Skrill which was currently sunning itself on the Lagoons rocks. As soon as they arrived back on the island Scathach, used a parasite killing spell on the Lagoon to purge it of any more Grimora. Then spent the rest of the night doing the same to every fresh water pool on the island she could find, before tending to any nocturnal dragons in her care.

Once the sun had risen she and Grim told the dragons to go to the cove to wait, before going to wait for Hiccup and the others by the Lagoon. The cove was large enough to house them all and the sea dragons comfortably. As time passed she became more anxious, she pulled her Karambits in and out of their sheaths, she spun them, threw them, juggled them, anything to get the fact that they hadn't shown up out of her head.

"You think it was too showy, using that concealment spell last night?" she asked the lounging dragon. Despite its effect the spell was not of teleportation, but of concealment. The smoke acting as a distraction allowing the caster to seem like they disappeared when really they were still in the same room.

Grim eyed his humans agitated state and began too coo, trying to let her know that she needed to calm down, "Your right I need to calm down, but I can't not until I know they've said no." I really hope they don't say no.

A quiet trilling sound from her mirror piece made her look down, she scrambled for the piece and was met with the sight of five dragons with riders heading for the Lagoon. "There here!" she shouted happily looking at Grim she noticed his deadpan look, "Right. Stay calm, they could be coming to tell you no. Or they could be saying yes…" a playful growl from Grim got her to focus. "... Right it doesn't matter. No matter what they say I need to be calm and collected." Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves she went to sit with Grim, on his rock in the sun. She leaned against his side, looked up to the sky and closed her eyes; she could feel Grims body move as he breathed and matched her own to his. Grim curled himself around his human offering her his support the best way he knew how.

Scathach felt Grim's breathing change before the first rider landed, "It is the Skrill! Oh, I can't believe we're this close and he hasn't tried to attack us." squealed Fishlegs, Scathach smiled at the boys enthusiasm.

"I know. Maybe we should poke him with a stick." suggested Tuffnut, causing Scathach to frown.

"Don't even think about it you two. We're here to talk, not set the island on fire."commanded Hiccup.

"Spoilsport." complained Ruffnut.

"Please, do not set the island on fire. I'd rather not go to the trouble of asking the sea dragons to put it out." Scathach opened her eyes and looked at the group from her position against Grim's side.

Her eyes met Fishlegs first, the boy cowed under her gaze, "Is Skrill the name of Grim's breed?" she asked softly, she noticed that the boy tended to be skittish except when talking about dragons, so she wanted to help him get comfortable enough to talk to her, so she led with that.

He gulped, and looked away from her eyes, "Um… Yeah, his type of dragons are called Skrills."

Scathach tested the name on her tongue, "Skrill." she looked to Grim who met her eye, "I think kit suits you. Grim the Skrill, has a nice ring to it. Don't you think?" the last bit was directed to Fishlegs who fumbled under the attention.

"Um…"

"Enough!" yelled Astrid from her place atop Stormfly, "We didn't come here to talk about names, we came to talk about the offer you made."

Scathach nodded, "Of course. Your here to find out if I'm telling the truth right?"

"Yes. If you really have been helping dragons, then all you need to do is take us to them and we'll see about making a deal." Scathach raised an eyebrow at the Blonde's rude tone, she in turn glared into her red eyes.

"A wise man always treats a stranger with respect. For he could be gazing on the face of an enemy." Scathachs tone was scolding, "You should watch that temper of yours, it could get you in trouble."

Astrid's face turned red in anger, "Excuse me!"

The Twins, Snotlout and Fishlegs stared at Scathach in amazement, no one called Astrid out on her anger. It was suicide.

"Woah, woah, woah. Calm down Astrid." Hiccup gave Astrid a chiding glare that made the girl huff and look away, "I'm sorry about that, but she is right. Could you please show us to the dragons? Then we can talk."

"It's alright." Scathach stood up from Grims side and stretched, Grim following suit. The two jumped off the rock, Grim landing with a thud, but Scathach didn't make a sound. "There is a cove, not too far from the cave you hid in yesterday. The pool of water opens up into the sea so the sea dragons can come and go and there is a hole in the ceiling big enough for dragons to fly in. The ceiling would be the best entry for our large group, so follow us." Scathach climbed onto Grims back, smoothing out the spikes along his spine for her to crouch, without being uncomfortable and placed her hands on his hump. With a simple pat on his right side Grim spread his wings and took flight.

End of Chapter 5 Enter the Skrill Rider Part 2


	6. Chapter 6

A Different Take on Dragons: Race To The Edge

Summary: What if the island Astrid and Fishlegs chose was not as deserted as they believed? What if the island had become a sanctuary for injured dragons? And what if the dragon protecting it was a familiar face? Join the Riders as they make a new ally in their fight against the Dragon Hunters.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my OC. Everything else belongs to Dreamworks

Previously: Scathach climbed onto Grims back, smoothing out the spikes along his spine for her to crouch, without being uncomfortable and placed her hands on his hump. With a simple pat on his right side Grim spread his wings and took flight.

Chapter 6 Enter the Skrill Rider Part 3

Scathach loved flying with Grim, it gave her a sense a freedom she could never achieve on the ground or in the ocean. When on the ground people can find you, when in the ocean you never knew what was out there with you, but in the sky you can see in every direction and at night you can touch the stars. There was no other feeling like it and it was all thanks to the dragon underneath her, allowing her onto his back that granted her the freeing feeling and she would be forever grateful.

The other riders watched the two fly, due to her armor Scathach seemed to melt into the Skrill's back, becoming a part of the dragon itself. "So Scathach. Scatty. The Scatmister." Barf and Belch were the only dragon, apart from Toothless, to come close to the pair.

Scathach cringed at the last nickname, "Please don't ever call me 'The Scatmister'. Scathach is fine."

"Scatty it is. So how exactly did you disappear last night? Was it magic?" asked Tuffnut, unrestrained excitement coloring his question.

"Please say it was magic." begged Ruffnut, from her perch on Barf's neck.

"Did you teleport?" he asked.

Scathach smiled beneath her mask at the two, "Yes, Tuffnut, Ruffnut. I did use magic last night, but it was not a teleportation spell."

"Oh please." Fishlegs exclaimed from his place on Meatlug's back, he didn't dare come closer to the Skrill. "There is no such thing as magic. You used a smoke bomb." The twins rolled their eyes, Tuffnut moved Belch's head closer to the red eyed girl and Skrill, the Skrill growled in warning at the close proximity, but the serpentine dragon ignored him.

"Ignore him. He doesn't believe in anything outside of Dragons, Science and you know anything that scares him." Tuffnut whispered, leaning in close to the rider and meeting her eyes without any apprehension.

Scathach giggled and the rider beamed in triumph at the sound, "To answer your question, the spell I used is called Shadow Walking. It allows the caster to merge with the Shadows of a room or area to conceal themselves."

"Awesome!" exclaimed both twins.

Astrid and Snotlout stayed silent, both not taking their eyes off the Skrill and rider. Both were in silent agreement that until Scathach proved she wasn't working with Vigo that they would keep an eye on her and away from Hiccup.

When the cove ceiling entrance came into view Scathach pointed it out to the other riders, "There it is!" she shouted, "Be sure to enter slowly, the dragons can be very skittish when dealing with new people. Especially the injured ones."

"Alright, you guys descend slowly we don't want to antagonize the dragons." ordered Hiccup.

"If there are any dragons." muttered Astrid.

Scathach ignored the comment, and braced herself as Grim descended into the cove. The first thing that greeted the Dragon riders was a four headed dragon that immediately moved to nuzzle Scathach, causing Grim to growl at the 'annoying' dragon trying to 'steal' his rider.

The riders and their dragons stopped in awe at the sight, Fishlegs even squealed at the sight of the dragon, "Hiccup it's a Snaptrapper! A real life Snaptrapper!"

"I see it Fishlegs." came Hiccups reply to his friends enthusiasm at seeing a new dragon

"So that's what they're called. I don't know the name of any breed, as I told Hiccup last night, where I come from there are no dragons, outside of Fairy Tales and Legends." said Scathach.

"Really? I thought there were dragons everywhere. Vikings have been dealing with them for over three-hundred years, so we assumed that they were everywhere." said Fishlegs, he and Meatlug moving closer to the four headed dragon and subsequently the Skrill. The idea of studying a new dragon up close overriding his fear of the dragon.

"Look at the bandages on his leg." pointed out Snotlout. Each rider looked to the bandages wrapped around one of its four legs.

"The Snaptrapper?" Scathach looked to Fishlegs for confirmation that she had said it correctly before continuing, "... was carried to me by two of the other dragons, with the teeth of a metal trap chomping down on the leg. It's slow going, but as long as they Stop…" She gave the dragon heads a very pointed look, which was ignored in favor of nuzzling her, "...trying to chew the bandages off, then it should heal nicely." Scathach pushed away the heads and addressed the riders, "I don't know what's been harder, removing the poison or keeping the bandages on the leg."

"Poison?" asked Hiccup.

"Yes. The teeth of the trap were coated in it, it was green and made the dragon so sluggish they couldn't even fly. I've come across it with a few of the dragons, mostly the ones caught in traps."

Pushing the four headed dragon away Grim descended deeper into the cove, the others followed, staring at the dragons littering the cove. Fishlegs was in Dragon Heaven, "Oh, look its a Timberjack! And there are some Hobblegrunt's! Oh this is so exciting!" Fishlegs continued to point out each dragon he caught sight of.

A family of Windwalkers and two Prickleboggle's watched a Tide Glider dance in the waters of the cove, beside a Snifflehunch and Windgnasher. A Crimson Goregutter and Thornridge watched a Grapple Grounder tie itself into knots, presumably after the other dragons had refused to play, and in the center of the cove surrounded by the others were a Changewing, a Shivertooth, a Windstriker, a Timberjack and a Mudraker. Grim directed the riders and their dragons to a clear space next to the group. The Shivertooth approached the two dragons and the Skrill rider happily, but eyed the newcomers with caution.

"A Shivertooth!" squealed Fishlegs as he and Meatlug landed catching the Shivertooths attention. After a nod of encouragement from Scathach and Grim, the Shivertooth approached Fishlegs and Meatlug slowly, tilting its head as it inspected the pair, "Hi. I've never met a Shivertooth before, my name is Fishlegs and this is my Meatlug." Fishlegs and Meatlug let the dragon sniff them and inspect them. Fishlegs was practically vibrating in Meatlegs saddle as the dragon began sniffing his face. The dragon swung its head to watch the other new dragons as they landed.

At such a large group the dragon retreated, to the others. HIccup eyed the obviously injured dragons, the Changewings tail was half its natural size, the Windstriker had patches of missing scales all along its body, the Timberjack had an obvious jagged scar on its right wing and the Mudrakers eyes had been badly scarred. The Snaptrapper joined the group, going over to greet the Shivertooth affectionately.

"What happened to them?" asked Astrid.

"I don't really know. I have some theories. The Snaptrapper had been caught in a trap. The one with the incredibly large wings…"

"Timberjack." supplied Fishlegs.

"The Timberjacks wing had been almost completely torn in two, most likely by another dragon and left for dead. The one with the missing scales…"

"Windstriker."

"...The Windstriker flew here itself with patches of dead or missing scales and spikes and the blind one…"

"Mudraker."

Scathach sent Fishlegs a thankful smile, "The Mudraker was brought here by a two headed dragon not unlike the Twin's."

"Zippleback!" the two shouted before Fishlegs could, said boy frowned at them.

"These are just the dragons I am treating now. Once healed they will either choose to leave or stay on the island, the others here are the ones that chose to stay. Some of the ones here will leave and bring dragons back, but more often than not it is dragons that have left after being healed that have brought me the injured."

"Amazing. The dragons realized that you were able to heal them, so they began to bring whatever injured dragon they came across all the way back to you. It's absolutely amazing." gushed Fishlegs.

Scathach dismounted from Grim and approached the group with Hiccup quick to follow. She went to the Shivertooth first the dragon happily cooing at the girl and offering its snout for her to hug. "If it wasn't for this dragon, the two green ones and the one in the water I don't think I could have helped as many as I have. Like the Windstriker, it had patches of its scales missing, I didn't do much he/she did the work. He/She's saliva sped up the healing process immensely, and with his/her permission I have used their saliva to make salves and poultices for the other injured dragons. It was the same with the dragon in the water."

"Amazing. It's been theorized but never confirmed that a Shivertooth's scales and saliva have healing properties, but it's never been confirmed. Well, until now, you said the dragon in the water was the same?" asked Fishlegs.

Scathach nodded, "His/Her's saliva has the same healing properties, but they were not hurt when they came here. They simply showed up one day wanting to help."

"This is incredible. All these dragons not only came to you to be healed, but brought other species of dragons to be healed as well." Said Hiccup as he slowly approached the Mudraker. Everyone watched the blind dragon sniff the hand Hiccup presented cautiously, Toothless followed his rider and cooed toward the dragon in greeting. At the sound the Mudraker perked up, swinging its head towards the black dragon and cooed in return, the sound signalling Toothless to nuzzle the other dragons head.

"I find that sound is the best way to build a rapid with the Mudrakers. When he/she first arrived they were very scared, and I noticed that they reacted to sound more than anything, so I played my flute every night for three nights. Each night the dragon moved close to me and on the third night he/she placed their head in my lap as I played…" Scathach sighed as she approached the three, "... That is one of the reasons for the deal. Injured dragons are scared, sometimes it will take days, even a week, before they will let me near them and more and more dragons have been showing up having been caught in some sort of trap."

"Dragon Hunters. They capture and kill dragons, then sell off the pieces. Vigo is there leader." Hiccups voice was hard as he talked about the hunters.

"And it is only a matter of time before they find their way here, and I can not protect all of the dragons. Sure they can fight, but the ones who are injured will not be able to, caring for an injured dragon takes time and constant attention. I can not do that and watch for these hunters at the same time, I need help."

"Which is why you came to us with a deal," said Astrid. Seeing the dragons for herself, she let herself relax a little, but she was still wary of the girl.

"If I relocate to your island, then you can help me protect these dragon and the ones brought into my care." explained Scathach.

"And teach you?" asked Hiccup."

"Please. I want to help as many as I can, and to do that I need to know more about them."

"And in return you'll get us information on Vigo. That's it?" asked Snotlout, "Seems to me that we'll being doing more work."

"SNOTLOUT!" yelled Hiccup

"No. He is right." Scathach faced Snotlout, "Not only will I gather information on Vigo, but I will also work for you." Seeing their confused looks she elaborated. "I have many skills at my disposal. Skills that will not only produce information, but if you want Vigo dead then I can do that."

End of Chapter 6: Enter the Skrill Rider Part 3


	7. Chapter 7

A Different Take on Dragons: Race To The Edge

Summary: What if the island Astrid and Fishlegs chose was not as deserted as they believed? What if the island had become a sanctuary for injured dragons? And what if the dragon protecting it was a familiar face? Join the Riders as they make a new ally in their fight against the Dragon Hunters.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my OC. Everything else belongs to Dreamworks

Previously: "I have many skills at my disposal. Skills that will not only produce information, but if you want Vigo dead then I can do that."

Chapter 7: Enter the Skrill Rider Part 4

Silence. Absolute Silence, greeted Scathachs Statement. The groups eyes were wide as they processed what she had offered.

"No."

"No?"

"We aren't killing anyone…"

"No 'we' aren't. I am." clarified Scathach. "You all might have been raised as Vikings, but it is very clear that none of you have ever taken a human life."

"We've been trained as warriors, not killer's." said Astrid.

Scathach scoffed, "And what do warriors do when the village they protect is attacked? Nicely ask the enemy to leave? When there is a threat killing becomes a necessary evil. The fact that you don't understand that, just proves my point." She met Hiccups eyes, "If you want this Vigo dead, but do not want to sully your hands with his blood, then I can do it for you."

"That is not how we do things! We are not murderers!"

"Protect the dragons, teach me and I will kill Vigo. That's the deal." Scathach stated harshly. At this point the argument was drawing the attention of every dragon in the cove, the Mudraker at Scathachs side became hesitant as the voices increased in volume. Seeing the dragons fear, Scathach pushed the dragon behind her towards the Shivertooth, who led the dragon further away from the riders.

"Killing Vigo wouldn't solve this problem. The dragon hunters have been hunting for decades, they aren't going to stop, just because Vigo's gone, someone will just take his place and continue to hunt dragons. We need to shut down the hunters network and stop their trading in its tracks." explained Hiccup.

Scathach shrugged, "Then I will capture Vigo and we will tear the information out of his flesh."

"Torture?" whimpered Fishlegs. Even the twin's looked ill at the prospect.

"You can't be serious? I she serious!" asked Snotlout

Sensing the growing tension Grim moved to his human's side and raised himself up showing off his size as a show of intimidation and in support of his friend. The injured dragons moved further behind the pair and where promptly shielded underneath the Timberjacks wings.

"Let's talk about this." Hiccup raised his voice above the others, once they had quieted he turned to Scathach, "Please we want to help, and we want to deal with the hunters, but your asking me to agree to murder, and that is not who we are." the other riders nodded in agreement with him, "We want to make a deal, we want information on Vigo and the Hunters and we want to help you care and protect these dragons. We can think of another way, and you can help us. But we can and will do it without unnecessary bloodshed."

Scathach looked to each of the riders. They were all in agreement with their leader, So I was right. Grim had saved her life when she had nothing. She been lost and alone, until Grim had found her and offered her a new path, one of freedom. She traveled with Grim seeing the world with new eyes, and then, when she began helping dragons she felt that she had started on her true path, using pieces of what she was, what she is, to help, meant so much, but she knew it wasn't enough. She could no longer continue to ignore exactly who she is, if she truly wanted to move on with her life then she needed to accept herself, ALL of herself. Time to make an offer he can't refuse.

She smiled beneath her mask, "Then let me propose something else. You let the dragons and I relocate to your island. There I will continue to treat the dragons brought to me. You will teach me what you can about dragons, and in exchange…" Scathach got down on one knee, bowed her head and presented her right palm to Hiccup, "...My life and skills are yours to do with as you wish." Hiccups eyes widened at the offer, "You are meant to be the next Chief of your village yes? Then you understand what I have offered. My life, for your aide with the dragons."

The others, even Fishlegs were confused, "Hiccup what is she talking about?" asked Astrid looking between the two.

Hiccup stared at Scathachs kneeled form. Stoick had once told Hiccup that, a long time ago warriors would pledge their lives to great chiefs as the ultimate show of devotion, This is not something that is done lightly son. Once a pledge has been made in blood it can never be revoked, that person's life is no longer their own, it belongs to the chief.

"Do you understand what a pledge like this means?" asked Hiccup.

"I would not have made the offer if I didn't. I may not be from your lands, but this is not the only place in the world where a promise like this exists." she stated head still bowed and had up in offering.

"You don't have to do this." he tried.

"Yes. I do. When Grim saved me I did not know what I was, I began helping dragons and tried to fool myself into thinking myself a healer, but I was not made to care for others. I was made to spill blood and take souls, I was made to be a weapon with many uses and wielded as such. Every weapon needs a hand to wield it, I offered you an easy solution, a simple way to be rid of an enemy, an enemy that would have taken this offer without question. 'Action without thought is empty. Thought without action is blind.' So do you accept my pledge?" Scathach produced one of her Karambits with her left hand and offered it to Hiccup.

"Hiccup! What in the name of Thor is going on!" yelled Astrid.

Hiccup did not take his eyes off of the offered weapon as he answered, "A Blood Pledge is made when a warrior devotes their life to that chief, and once made it can never be revoked."

"And what does that mean?" asked Snotlout.

"It means that the warrior becomes the chief's property, and can order them to do anything."

"Um, I thought chief's could already do that." said Tuffnut,

"Yes, but a villager can say no to the chief and leave the village." said Fishlegs

"Wait…" said Ruffnut, "... are you saying that we can say no… to Stoick?"

Hiccup shook his head, "Not exactly. Every call a chief makes can be questioned if it is deemed unfavorable for the village. But if a chief commands a pledge to do something they can never say no. If a chief asked a pledge to cut off their hand the pledge would do it, simply because that is what the chief wishes."

The riders eyes widened at the knowledge and looked to the unmoving girl.

"Why? You don't even know me." he asked

"Why not you? I have worked for some of the worst scum this world has to offer, they all shared the same look. You don't have that look. You have his look." she said still not rising from her position or lowering her hands.

"Whose look?"

"Toothless's. You share the same eyes."

Hiccup looked to Astrid, "You're the one she's making the pledge to, so it's your decision. Do what you feel is right." she said.

Hiccup looked to the others for their answers

"What she said." Fishlegs

"Ditto." the Twins

Snotlout frowned at his cousin, he had grown to respect Hiccup a lot, but he was still the older of the two and had always been told to watch out for him. He may have ignored the last part when they were younger, but he had taken it to heart when his little cousin had risked his life and lost his leg for Berk. He'll admit that at first he was jealous of his cousin for gaining the attention of the village and Astrid, he thought that Hiccup would start to treat him just as badly as he did, but instead he had offered an olive branch. When he accepted he learned that while his cousin was smarter than him, he wasn't as physically strong, so Snotlout decided that he would be his cousins muscles for as long as he needed them. He had always been Hiccup's opposite, and it was about time he used that to help him.

So when he noticed that his cousin was a little to quick to trust, he was determined to be the opposite. His cousin could trust all he liked, but he would watch them until they proved themselves in his eyes that they wouldn't harm his cousin. For Thor's sake he didn't even trust the twins to be alone with his cousin until he was sure they wouldn't kill him and that took two years. This stranger could make whatever pledge she wanted, but he will watch her until he deemed her worthy of his cousin's friendship.

"It's up to you Cuz. I'll back your play." he said.

Hiccup had grown worried when his cousin had taken so long to answer, but was happy he would support him. Hiccup turned his attention back to Scathach, and taking a deep breath accepted the curved black blade, "I, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third future chief of Berk, accept your Blood Pledge." Carefully he sliced his palm open and then did the same to her right palm, "May you serve me until the end of your days." Hiccup then placed his bloodied palm against her own, then lifted her from her kneeling position with their clasped bloody palms.

Her head was still bowed, "How may I serve you?" she asked.

"Well, first off you can do me a favor."

"Name it."

"Remove your mask and hood. I'd like to put a face to a name."

Scathach removed the hood first, if her eyes were rubies then her hair was blood, framing her face and barely touching her shoulders. Slowly she removed her mask, revealing a sweetheart shaped face, pale pink lips, pale skin and a small nose.

"How else may I serve you?" she asked.

"Gather your dragons, we'll leave as soon as we can. Once they're settled we will find a place to build your hut on the Edge."

Scathach beamed at the boy, "Yes, sir!"

Feeling his riders happiness Grim nudged her with his left wing, catching her attention, "Give the order Grim." Grim nodded and turned to the island dragons that had moved closer to the exchange, he reared back on his legs, unfurled his wings and let out a few loud roars. The island dragons answered in kind and banded together with the injured dragons in the middle,

"We are ready to go when you are, sir. Just lead the way." she said turning back to the stunned group.

"Just like that?" asked a surprised Hiccup.

Scathach nodded, "I had them prepared to leave as soon as I returned, that's why I gathered them into the cove. They are usually more spread out on the island."

"Well, alright then. We should head for the base itself and then go from there, so the dragons will know where it is." Hiccup mounted Toothless and everyone followed suit, Scathach waited and mounted Grim last.

"Wait, what about your stuff Scathach?" asked Astrid.

"It is alright Mistress Astrid" Astrid's eyes widened at the title, "...All I need is my bow and quiver and then once the dragons are settled Grim and I will return to the island to gather my things…" she turned to Hiccup, "... If I may?"

"Of course. You sure you don't want to get them now?" he asked gently

Scathach smiled, "Thank you for the offer, but it would be safer to move the dragons while it is still light out." Scathach walked over to the rocks by the water to retrieve her bow and a quiver full of arrows. She attached the quiver to her right hip and placed the bow around her back and chest, then made her way back to the group.

"Alright then. Everyone we want to keep the injured dragons in the center of the group, we are a bigger target for the hunters, so Ruff, Tuff…"the twins straightened, "I need you and Snotlout to be on the lookout for any ships. If its a hunter ship, draw their fire and wait till we are far enough away, before coming back."

"You got it!" yelled Ruffnut

"Leave it to us." yelled Tuffnut. A gleam began to grow in both of their eyes at the prospect of destruction.

Snot lout was less thrilled at leaving his cousin with an unknown, sure Astrid was there, but Fishlegs was not a warrior like her. "You sure?"

"I'm sure. If we come across any hunter ships I need to know that they can't follow us and hurt one of the dragons. And let's face it Snotlout you can annoy anybody." Hiccup and Snotlout smiled at the friendly barb.

"Alright. Hookfang and I got your back!" Hookfang lit up at the proclamation, "Hookfang." grumbled Snotlout at the increased temperature on his rear

"Astrid, Fishlegs and I will lead the dragons to the Edge. And Scathach I need you to keep the dragons calm and together you know them best."

"As you wish."

Hiccup signaled Toothless to ascend and the riders followed suit. With a final look at the cove Scathach and Grim ascended as well, with the other dragons following them out of the cove and to their new home.

I wonder how his/my father is going to react.

End of Chapter 7: Enter the Skrill Rider Part 4


	8. Chapter 8

A Different Take on Dragons: Race To The Edge

Summary: What if the island Astrid and Fishlegs chose was not as deserted as they believed? What if the island had become a sanctuary for injured dragons? And what if the dragon protecting it was a familiar face? Join the Riders as they make a new ally in their fight against the Dragon Hunters.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my OC. Everything else belongs to Dreamworks

Previously: I wonder how his/my father is going to react.

Chapter 8 Enter the Skrill Rider Part 5

The flight back to the Edge was uneventful apart from the riders getting swapped by six eager Terrible Terrors. The last two went to greet Scathach and Grim much more calmly, while the others latched onto the riders they had spied on and chirped happily.

"What on earth…"

"They are happy to see you again. They were the ones that helped me watch you the day you came to the island, using the mirror pieces around their necks, they are connected to the piece I wear." Scathach urged Grim next to Toothless, removed the piece from around her neck and offered it to him. "If you focus on one of the small dragons the pieces will connect and allow you to look out from the chosen piece."

Following her instructions Hiccup focused on the Terrible Terror with Astrid, the image was hazy and grainy, but he could clearly see Astrids annoyed face in the mirror. "Incredible, the image is a little blurry, but this is amazing." His mind already began to race through all the possibilities.

"The image is distorted, because you are not versed in using the piece, Master Hiccup." Scathach accepted the piece back, but kept her head bowed in respect. "They became very enamored with each of you, I would not be surprised if they follow each of you for a few days."

"Cool. They'll be like our own little sidekick's." Tuffnut held the little orange and green dragon out in front of him, "I shall call you Barry, and you shall be my companion." The dragon gave a little squeal of delight. The others rolled their eyes at the male twins declaration, but Scathach giggled at his antics. The other Terrible Terrors settled across 'their' humans shoulders.

The rest of the flight was filled with questions, mostly from the Twin's, directed to Scathach. After gaining confirmation from Hiccup that she was allowed to answer, she answered each one as best she could.

"Do you really have magic?" Tuffnut

"Yes."

"Can you use magic to turn into something else?" Ruffnut

"Depending on what the something else is, yes."

"Can you teleport?" Tuffnut

"Not very far and only to places I have been or have intimate knowledge of."

"Do you use magic to understand what dragons are saying? Better yet what they are thinking?" Tuffnut

"I've never tried, though I have heard of such spells."

The Twin's became more energized with each answer they received, normally people would yell at the twins to stop asking questions or would ignore them entirely. The Twins loved asking questions, they had always been curious and when people wouldn't answer they would be forced to find the answers themselves. They didn't mind though, it just made their lives more interesting.

"Getting back to reality…" said Fishlegs, earning frowns from both Ruff and Tuff at the interruption.

"And back to watching for enemy ship's." said Hiccup, Ruff and Tuff gave him an apologetic look.

"...Anyway, as I was saying. How many dragons have you treated?" asked Fishlegs

"I have not kept count, but..." Fishlegs quickly interrupted her.

"Do you think you could describe the dragons you've treated? I may be able to identify them based on your descriptions, and if you tell us not only how they were injured, but how you healed them, then we can add the information to the Book of Dragons."

"Book of Dragons?"

Fishlegs nodded eagerly, more than happy to talk about his favorite book. "The Book of Dragons is the culmination of all our dragon knowledge. At first it was about how to kill dragons, but now we've been filling it with everything we've learned about them so we can train them, but there are so many dragons in it that we haven't come across and dragons that aren't in it at all."

"Then I can do much better than a description. I made notes of all my observations on every dragon that was brought into my care, their symptoms, their injuries, and the treatments I used. I made note of what worked and what didn't, I even made illustrations, to help."

"Could I see them?" asked Fishlegs excitedly.

"Of course. I will retrieve them when I return for my belongings."

"Oh, thank you."

"In vain have you acquired knowledge, if you have not imparted it to others." (Deuteronomy Rabbah) said Scathach.

Fishlegs nodded his head, "I couldn't agree more. Knowledge is one of the world's greatest treasures and not sharing it is the worst crime imaginable."

"I can say that there are worse crimes than not sharing one's knowledge." Scathach and Grim guided the blind Mudraker back into the group when it started to stray, they then descended closer to the water to check on the Tide Glider, Windwalker and Shivertooth.

Time Jump

Seeing the Edge come into view Hiccup guided Toothless to fly beside Scathach and Grim, seeing their approach Scathach bowed her head, "We're approaching the Edge now, we'll land the dragons underneath the open dome in the center, they can stay there for the time being. Just follow us."

Scathach nodded her head and Toothless made a gesture with his head for Grim to follow him. Grim complied with a growl, the four other riders and island dragons joining them in their descent, even the Tide Glider rose from the water to join them on dry land. The first island dragon to touch down were the two Hobblegrunt's and their three babies, their scales turning a bright purple as they inspected the space, the Snifflehunach and Windgnasher were next eagerly sniffing around, the Thornridge and Crimson Goregutter wasted no time in finding their own spots to lie down. The Crimson Goregutter ignored the Grapple Grounder wrapping itself around its horns, the Snaptrapper landed outside the dome landing on the grass and spreading itself out comfortably, it was joined by the Timberjack as it was to big to fit in the dome with all the other dragons. The Windwalker, Shivertooth, Tide Glider and Prickleboggle landed after the wounded Changewing, Mudraker, and Windstriker entered the dome. Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruff and Tuff landed outside the dome.

"So where is Scathach going to be staying?" asked Astrid, "It's going to take a few days to build her hut."

"She can stay in our hut!" yelled Tuffnut,

"Yeah!" agreed Ruffnut

Scathach was surprised by the twin's generosity and by the looks of surprise of the other riders faces, so were they, "Thank you Tuffnut, Ruffnut. But I will be staying with my dragons and Grim tonight, this place is very new for them and I want to be here to keep them calm." The twins pouted at her gentle refusal, seeing their down trodden expression Scathach addressed Hiccup, "Master Hiccup. Could the Twin's accompany Grim and I back to the island to gather my things? I will need some extra help to carry my belongings and their company would be greatly appreciated."

The Twin's perked up at the invitation and turned their attention to their leader, "Can we Hiccup? Please!" The twins dismounted their dragon and jumped onto Hiccup and Toothless, causing Hiccup to grunt at the impact, "Please. Please. Please." Toothless growled and through the two off his rider.

Shaking himself Hiccup answered the two, "Yes, yes. You two can go with Scathach and Grim to gather her things…" they cheered, "...After we talk to my Dad and Gobber." The twins groaned. "Astrid could you go get them and bring them here? If these dragons are going to stay on the island they need to know not to attack my dad and Gobber whenever they visit the Edge."

Astrid and Stormfly took off to get the Chief and Blacksmith, while the other dismounted their dragons, only to be swarmed by the Windgnasher and Snifflehunch. The two dragons eagerly sniffed the riders and their dragons, Snotlout let out a little shout when the Snifflehunch began sniffing him, "It is alright Snotlout, they will not harm you, they just want to meet you. These two especially are very friendly with every dragon they meet, the only dragon I have right now is the Snaptrapper, but that is only because they are irritated about the salve and bandage on their leg."

"What about the Changewing?" asked Snotlout

Seeing some movement behind him Scathach smirked, "Why not ask them yourself?" Snotlout didn't understand until the Changewing's breath hit the back of his neck.

"Ahh!" Snotlout screamed at the sudden appearance of the dragon, Hookfang issued a warning growl, but made no move to attack the other dragon, knowing that it was simply messing with his rider.

Fishlegs asked excitedly, "What's the salve made of?"

"It is a combination of saliva from both the Tide Glider, and Shivertooth, as well as these tiny particles from the two green dragons. If the Shivertooth sheds some scales, then I will add them to the salve's as well. The scales make it thicker and stronger, so I save those salve's, for the more dire wounds." explained Scathach

"Does the salve only work on dragons?" asked Hiccup,

"No, Master Hiccup. I have used them myself. And those dragons are very helpful assistants." Scathach gestured to a thin green, black spotted dragons playing with the two baby Hobblegrunt.

"Prickleboggle." supplied Fishlegs

"The Prickleboggle are amazing caretakers and protectors. They can breathe these tiny purple scales that help fight infection and their skin is so thick no arrow can pierce it, they help me keep watch over the wounded dragons and make sure the injured stay healthy."

"Why haven't you named any of them?" asked Hiccup,

Scathach blushed shyly, "I've never really been good at giving names, Master Hiccup."

"You named Grim, didn't you?" asked Snotlout

"Kind of. I called him Grim because he was so gloomy all the time. And he started answering to it, so really he chose his name."

"Well, have no fear Scatty for we shall name them." proclaimed Tuffnut.

She smiled, "I think they'd like that. Just as long as they agree to them."

Both the twins began brainstorming names for each dragon, their active movement dislodging the Terrible Terrors from around their shoulders, forcing them to relocate to Fishlegs, who didn't seem to mind the extra weight. The twins drew the attention of the other island dragons who moved closer to them not minding their ever growing louder voices. Fishlegs eagerly observed the dragons around him, his eyes glowing in happiness at being so close to dragons he had never seen outside of his books. He was muttering all sorts of observations under his breath, wing size, scale colors, and movements, his mutterings drew the attention of the Hobblegrunt, they moved closer to the boy trying to understand why he was making those noises. Fishlegs jumped a little when he spotted how close one had gotten, said dragon jumped as well their scales flashing red very briefly, before settling back down.

The flapping of wings signaled Astrids return with the Chief and Gobber, Stormfly and Astrid landed first and a large, beefy, green, red and orange dragon carrying the Chief and Gobber landed. The new dragon and its riders, put the island dragons a little on edge, the riders dragons and Grim began cooing and purring to calm the island dragons, and the new dragon joined them to soothe their hesitance.

The Chief eyed his dragon, "Well, I've never heard him make that noise, before."

"He is just telling the new dragons that he won't hurt them dad." Stoick looked his son over, checking to make sure he wasn't injured before turning his attention to the red headed girl and the Skrill. Seeing his gaze Scathach dropped down onto one knee just as she had done to Hiccup, but did not offer him her hands, Grim eyed the Chief from behind his rider.

"Well met Stoick, Chief of Berk and father of my Master." Stoick's eyes widened at the formal address. His eyes swung to his son who was rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment,

"Yeah, so funny story. Um, Scathach here offered herself as a pledge and I accepted." Hiccup winced as the words left his mouth, This won't go well. Surprising Hiccup's dad didn't react the way he expected, he had expected some shouting and a lecture on not accepting a total stranger as a pledge, but his father just eyed Scathach, who was still kneeling.

"And who are you to pledge yourself to my son and my House?" he questioned. Hiccup recognized his father's Chief voice, it was the same voice he used to issue orders to the tribe and scold him.

"I am a weapon forged in blood and without an owner to wield me." was her reply.

"Show me your eyes." he commanded

"Why is she listening to the Chief? I thought only Hiccup could give her orders." asked Snotlout

"Because Stoick is Hiccups father." answered Gobber, "It's true she has sworn herself to Hiccup, but she technically serves the entire Haddock House, as the head of the Haddock House it is within his right to give Scathach an order, but she is also within her right to refuse him. They only one she can't refuse is Hiccup."

"Woah." exclaimed the twins.

Scathach raised her head and met Stoick's stare, the Chief of Berk sucked in a breathe at the sight of them, "I met a similar pair of eyes many years ago. It was after a meeting between Chieftains, we were all exhausted many went to rest so that they could begin their journey home early in the morning. I had chosen to go find something to eat and drink in the islands Great Hall, I was not the only one, men and women were drinking and laughing merrily, until a scream rang out. One of the present Vikings throats had been slit, everyone brought out weapons to fight off the attacker, but there wasn't one. While the others were searching the Great Hall, I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye and when I turned my head I saw a moving shadow." Stoick laughed a little, "I thought I was drunk, but when the shadow opened the door and left I chose to follow. I chased the shadow out of the Great Hall and into the woods. When I thought I had lost sight of it I was ready to turn back, I believed that I had imagined it, but as I turned to go back, I came face to face with a child with glowing red eyes."

Scathach did not look away from Stoick as he continued his story, "Again I thought I was seeing things, no child could have eyes like a demon, but then I noticed that the child was carrying a curved black blade dripping with blood. Before I could react the child leaped for me and the next thing I know I'm waking to Spitelout shaking me awake. They never did catch whoever killed the viking and I never told anyone about the child I saw, no one would believe me, the child looked to be no older than my son, who was only eight at the time." Stoick took a beat before addressing the kneeling girl, "Why did you kill that viking?"

"Woah, dad you can't really think that she…" began Hiccup only to be cut off by Scathach herself.

"It was the first job my parents sent me on alone." she said, Hiccups eyes widened. "My parents believed me ready to begin completing contracts on my own. The contract was issued by his wife, he was sleeping with other women in their village. She wanted him gone, so she issued a contract with my father who assigned it to me."

"Your parents made you kill people when you were eight?" asked Astrid, absolutely horrified at the notion of taking lives at such a young age.

"No. I took my first life when I was six, for the next two years I completed contracts under the watchful gaze of one or both of my parents. When I turned eight they decided to see if I could begin completing contracts without their supervision, that viking was my first and once I returned to my parents they began sending me out by myself. This continued for the next ten years, until I left my parents and met Grim."

"And you didn't feel the need to mention the fact that you used to kill people for money earlier?" demanded Astrid.

"I did offer to kill Vigo for you." reminded Scathach

"That's not the same thing." she rebuffed, "Killing a man who has been trying to kill us is one thing, but killing innocent people…"

"How do you know they were innocent?" challenged Scathach pulling her eyes away from Stoick to glare at the angry girl. "There are no good guys or bad guys in the world. There are only people."

"So let me get this straight when we were playing pirates and vikings you were traveling alone outside your village to kill people?" asked Snotlout. He had moved closer to his cousin and uncle, not wanting either to be too close to the girl, Pledge smedge she makes one move towards my cousin or uncle and she's dead.

"It would appear so." said Gobber, "Now what I'm wondering is why you didn't kill Stoick."

"Gobber!" shouted Hiccup.

"What? Stoick saw her leave the Great Hall and he saw her with a knife covered in blood, the smart move would have been to kill Stoick so he wouldn't tell anyone. So why didn't you?"

"I only killed those I was contracted to kill." Scathach locked eyes with Stoick again, "I was never given a contract with your name."

"Is that supposed to make killing that viking right?" questioned Stoick

Scathach shook her head, "No. Nothing can make what I did right. I will never be able to wash the blood on my hands away, and I do not seek forgiveness for what I did. As I told you, I am a weapon forged in blood and without a hand to wield me. I offered my handle to your son and he accepted it, now he may wield me as he wishes. His enemies are mine to strike down and his allies are mine to shield."

Stoick stared at Scathach for a long time; on the one hand his son had gained a pledge before he was even chief a great feat in of itself, a true sign of how great a leader his son could be. On the other hand his pledge was a merciless killer, most likely with enemies of her own out for her blood, but he could not keep the image of a small child standing alone in a forest, clutching a bloody knife, a child no bigger than his own son, she had a blank look in her eye that night. A look no child should ever have, he shuddered at the things a child would have to go through to look so dead inside. Stoick knew how hard it was to kill another person, even if that person was trying to hurt you or your tribe they were still another human being. He remembered the first time he had taken a life, he was the same age as his son now, he hadn't slept for weeks, every time he closed his eyes he would see the faces of the men and women he had killed in defense of his tribe. To go through that could not have been easy for a child, making his decision he turned to his son, "What do you want to do son? If you want to break the pledge you can." Scathach sucked in a breathe at the notion, but remained kneeling.

Hiccup looked at his father in confusion, "You said once a pledge has been made it can never be broken."

"As long as the warrior lives the pledge can never be broken." amended Stoick, he watched his son's eyes widen at what he was suggesting.

"No. I am not killing her just to break her pledge. Dad how can you even that I would do that?" Hiccup was looking at his father in horror.

"Then the pledge stands, but know this Scathach…" Stoick pulled out his axe and pointed it at the girl, she didn't flinch, "If you break the pledge or if anything happens to my son, then your life is forfeit."

"I understand."

Stoick sighed and put away his axe, "So…. Now that that's over would you mind me taking a look at your armor lass?"

"Gobber!" yelled Stoick

"What? It's nice armor, and with all the scales we're always cleaning up around the village we might be able to finally put them to good use."

"Oooh. You think you could make me some armor out of Screaming Death scales Gobber?" asked Tuffnut.

"Hold on! How can any of you be ok with this?" asked Astrid.

"Scathach can not harm a member of the Hooligan Tribe unless Hiccup orders her too. You and the others are perfectly safe."

"And what if she breaks her pledge?" asked Snotlout

"Then she'll kill each of you in your sleep."

"Gobber!"

"Why do you believe I will break my pledge Mistress Astrid?" asked Scathach, both Stoick and Gobber raised an eyebrow at the title Scathach had given the girl, Astrid blushed

"Because…. Because…. You don't even know Hiccup, and yet your pledged your life to him. For all we know Vigo could have put you up to this, to get close to Hiccup, so you can stab him in the back."

"Your point is valid, I have tricked my way into a targets trust, so that I may kill them, but I can assure you that a Pledge is not a tool even for me. As I told you before I have magic, and magic itself is a force of nature, and nature has a will all its own. When I made my Pledge to Hiccup the magic inside me bore witness and when I signed it in blood my magic reacted, locking my thoughts into place."

"And what does that mean?" she questioned.

"When I made the Pledge I gave Master Hiccup something."

"What did you give me?" he asked, his stomach dropping a little in hesitance.

"When you accepted the bond did your hand become hot? Just for an instant?"

"Yeah, it did. I thought you just had really warm hands."

Scathach shook her head, "That was a bit of my magic passing from me to you, Master Hiccup."

"WHAT!"

"Hiccup can do magic now? No fair!" yelled Tuffnut.

"No Tuffnut, Master Hiccup can only do one thing with that bit of magic." Scathach met his eyes, "He can kill me."

Everyone's eyes widened, "What do you mean I can kill you? I don't want to kill you!"

"That may be so now, but you may change your mind in the future."

"And you just expect us to believe you."

"No, he can try it now if he likes. Don't focus on killing me just think of something painful and focus on the heat you felt in your palm when you accepted my Pledge."

"No, I'm not going to…"

"Please. I want to prove that I am not here to kill any of you. Please."

Hiccup reluctantly nodded his head, closed his eyes and followed her directions. He thought back to earlier when he had sliced his palm and placed it against her own equally bloody one. The first painful thing that came to mind was when he lost his leg, it had hurt so much when he first woke up, it would ache all night and the scarring had just made the pain worse, as he continued to remember the painful sensations he didn't notice the heat in his palm.

Astrid watched Scathach begin to cough, the coughs became more violet until she bent forward and blood began to drip from her lips.

"Stop!" at everyone's shout Hiccup opened his eyes and stared at the blood dripping from Scathachs mouth in horror.

"Oh, gods." Fishlegs fainted, Snotlout turned a little green, the twins winced and Astrid just stared in horror, the look on her face mirroring Hiccups

"I am so sorry. "Hiccup moved to help Scathach up, but Grim roared at him, jumping over Scatahch to be between the two. Toothless and the other dragons started growling at the threat. The other island dragons roared in warning, a Prickleboggle, the Tideglider and the Shivertooth approached her to help, but she waved them all away.

"It's alright Grim…" she gasped out around a mouthful of blood, "...I'm okay." She wiped her mouth with the back of a gloved hand and went back to her kneeling position, "As you can see my Master can take my life any time he wishes. If I were working for Vigo then I would not have given him that ability."

"I believe you. I think your crazy, but I believe you." said Astrid, still reeling at the sight of the girl coughing up blood.

"Take it back." demanded Hiccup drawing everyone's attention

"I can not Master Hiccup. As I said my life is yours to do with as you wish. I did not do this completely for you, in part I did it for me. Magic is a force of nature, neither good nor bad, but powerful. I have seen it corrupt people, cause them to do terrible things, without my magic I am dangerous, but with it I can be a demon." Scathach met Hiccups eyes, "I want a guarantee, that if there should ever come a day where my magic consumes me, that I can be put down before harming others."

"But why me? Why would you-"

"Because Master Hiccup, you are a good man. That is why you declined my offer to kill Vigo. You won't take a life unless you are absolutely sure there is no other way, 'Demons run when a good man goes to war,'(Steven Moffat)."

Stoick placed his hand on Hiccups shoulder, "She's right son. You are a good man, and when you're Chief you will have to make hard decisions, like when to take a life and when to spare a life."

Toothless nudged his riders chest to get his attention, Hiccup smiled at his dragon, he didn't like the notion of being able to snuff out a life with a thought, but he would just have to live with it. I promise I won't let that happen.

"Ruff, Tuff. Take Scathach and Grim back to the island to get her things. Snotlout you go with them to help carry anything, I want this to be done in one trip. Fishlegs you stay here and watch over the dragons, Astrid and I will patrold the Edge for any Hunter ships."

Seeing that she hadn't gotten up Hiccup walked over to Scathach and offered her his hand, the same hand he used to accept her pledge, "Come on, get up. You need to go get your stuff. And when you get back we'll figure out where to build your hut." Scathach took his hand, but kept her head bowed,

"Thank you Master Hiccup."

Hiccup winced at the title, Yeah, definitely going to have a talk about that.

End of Chapter 8: Enter the Skrill Rider Part 5


	9. Chapter 9

A Different Take on Dragons: Race To The Edge

Summary: What if the island Astrid and Fishlegs chose was not as deserted as they believed? What if the island had become a sanctuary for injured dragons? And what if the dragon protecting it was a familiar face? Join the Riders as they make a new ally in their fight against the Dragon Hunters.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my OC. Everything else belongs to Dreamworks

Previously: Hiccup winced at the title, Yeah, definitely going to have to have a talk about that.

Chapter 9: Enter the Skrill Rider Finale

After ensuring that her dragons were calm, she gave Fishlegs her satchel, explaining what everything was for, and introduced him to the Mudraker, and Windstriker. The Mudraker was far more easy going than the Windstriker, but after showing Fishlegs how to apply a salve to the patches of regrowing scales, they calmed down. Fishlegs was eager to interact with the dragons and help them, she also introduced him to the two Prickleboggles so that they would work with him should anything happen. Astrid and Gobber grabbed some netting and canvas, so that the small group could carry Scathachs things, "Alright this should be big enough to carry your things lass."

Scathach bowed her head in thanks, "Thank you, Gobber. This is more than enough." The twins were vibrating in their seats to get started, Snotlout wasn't nearly as excited as the twins, he simply waited on Hookfangs neck. "Are you sure you can manage Fishlegs?"

Fishlegs nodded his head, "Of course. I just need to keep them calm until you get back, this will also be a great opportunity to study them up close."

"Just don't be afraid to ask the Prickleboggles for help. They want to care for the other's just as much as we do."

Said dragons nuzzled Fishlegs sides, "Will do." he said returning the dragons nuzzles with his own.

Scathach turned to Grim who was sniffing at the blood on the ground, whimpering. Her blood. She went to him, lifting up his left wing she moved under it, pulling it down around her she cuddled into Grims side, Grim used the wing to pull her closer. The others were startled when the Skrill began to spark, but became surprised when the electricity simply traveled through Scathachs armor without harming her. "I'm alright Grim. I'm safe, and so are the others." The Skrill cooed at his rider, he had been scared watching her cough up blood, he knew it was the one legged boy who had hurt his rider, he could smell her magic in the boy. The Skrill glared at the boy and Night Fury, they may owe them for sparing his life, but he would not hesitate to protect his human from them. Toothless approached the sparking dragon slowly, keeping low to the ground. Hiccup watched Toothless approach Scahach and Grim, trying to make himself as small as possible, Toothless chirped at the Skrill a few times, the sparks died down and Grim returned the sound.

The two dragons eyed the other, before butting their heads together, "Well, it would seem you made a friend Grim."

"Are we going to get your stuff or not? Let's go already." Snotlout spurred Hookfang into the air,

"Yeah. Come on! I wanna know if you can turn a person inside out." said Tuffnut

Toothless moved aside to let Grim leave, Scathach smiled at Toothless and the dragon returned it, she climbed onto Grims back checking to make sure her quiver was secure. Once sure she tapped Grims back twice and the two were off, the twins taking off to follow the netting and canvas in Barf 'and Belches claws.

Time Skip

Hiccup was silent and deep in thought as he and Astrid patrolled the Edge. In the span of one day Hiccup had gained a pledge, something even his father didn't have, gained new dragons to study and train, and lastly was given absolute control over another persons life.

Noticing how pensive Hiccup was acting Astrid urged Stormfly closer to him, "So a lot happened today." she tried. Hiccup barely spared her a glance, she frowned, "I'm sorry for making you do that."

That got Hiccups attention, "You didn't make me do anything Astrid."

"Yes, I did. If I hadn't accused her so much, then you wouldn't have had to hurt her. I just… You're always so quick to see the good in everyone Hiccup and while that isn't necessarily a bad thing, it has caused a few problems in the past."

"I want to see the good in people Astrid, it's who I am. Knowing that Scathach has placed her life literally in the palm of my hand is terrifying."

"You would never-"

"I know that, but still… I could."

"Well, look on the bright side," Hiccup looked to her questionly, "At least we have new dragons to train and it look like the Skkrill has seriously mellowed out. I mean did you see him? How quickly he came to her defense, the others too?"

"I know. The Skrill was comforting her and her armor is amazing it conducted the Skrill's lightning without hurting her. Just imagine what we could do if we used the scales of a Changewing or a Windstriker or even a Prickleboggle."

Seeing that Hiccup's mood had improved, improved Astrids. The two continued to fly around the Edge, checking the Night Terrors outposts and the other dragoons that lived on the Edge. Coming full circle they arrived back to the training dome, the two riders could see Fishlegs playing with the baby Hobblegrunt, Fishlegs giggled as the dragons scales changed a multitude of colors as they danced about. Looking around Hiccup couldn't find the Tide Glider, "Fishlegs!" yelled Hiccup.

The boy yelped in surprise, startled the babies ran back to their mother, Fishlegs scrambled to his feet and blushed, "Ye-yeah Hiccup?"

Hiccup and Astrid landed, the Snifflehunch and Windgnasher eagerly greeting Toothless and Stormfly, both dragons squaked at the larger dragons intrusions. "Where's the Tide Glider?" Hiccup didn't think Scathach would take it well if they had lost one of her dragons.

"It went back to the water. I think it was starting to dry out." Fishlegs explained, "Oh, Hiccup this is so amazing. I was inspecting the Timberjacks wing and I just have to know how Scathach healed it. I can't wait to see her notes, imagine all the dragons she's encountered."

Hiccup and Astrid smiled at their friends excitement. "I know Fishlegs. I'm just as excited as you are, but don't forget we have to stay on our toes incase of a dragon hunter attack."

"I know, but it's just so exciting whenever I have more information to add to the Book of Dragons." Fishlegs gushed.

Astrid looked to the horizon, "They should be back soon. We should start dinner and get some blankets for Scathach, since she said she would be sleeping out here tonight."

"Good idea. You go find some blankets, I'll go start dinner, and Fishlegs…" Hiccup spotted both Fishlegs and Meatlug playing with the Mudraker, Hiccup cleared his throat to get the boy's attention, Fishlegs blushed again, "...Fishlegs, you stay here and keep watching the dragons. Let me know when you see them."

Time Jump

The three dragons didn't return until after dinner was made, Astrid saw them approaching, "They're back!" Hiccup and Stoick looked up from the places they were setting for dinner, to look out the entrance facing the 'front' of the base, they could see the three getting closer carrying Scathach's things in a net. Hookfang, Barf and Belch gently placed the net on the landing pad, before landing themselves, Grim landed last keeping some distance from the two-headed dragon, Scathach dismounted and bowed to Hiccup, he was just glad she didn't get down on one knee again.

"Where would you like me to put my things Master?" she asked keeping her back bent, her right fist over her heart and her head bowed.

"Yes, Master what shall we do?" asked Snotlout, dismounting Hookfang in a mocking tone, bending down to untie the netting from Hookfangs legs. "You now you don't have to call him that, right?"

"Yeah, I mean sure Hiccup's in charge, but I wouldn't call him our Master." said Ruffnut dismounting Barf and following Snotlout's lead began untying the netting from Barf and Belches legs.

"Yeah, he only gives us orders, which we follow, gives us punishments, which we accept most of the time, he makes all the plans and big decisions…" listed off Tuffnut, "... Wow, I guess he kinda is like our Master."

Hiccup sighed, he needed to put a stop to this now, "Scathach you don't have to do that. Or call me 'Master'. Just call me Hiccup, and you can put your stuff in here, until we build your hut."

Scathach rose from her bow,

"As you wish, Master Hiccup." he was about to correct her when he caught her smirk he smiled

"Yeah, yeah. Just put your stuff over there wise guy." Scathach, Astrid, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Hiccup and the Chief moved the trunks into a corner of the center hut. Toothless sniffed the trunks curiously, Grim nudged him away from the trunks and the black dragon huffed,

"Thank you for helping me retrieve my things, Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut. Your company was gladly appreciated as well."

"Can we see what's inside now?" asked Tuffnut eagerly moving to the trunks,

"Of course, just be gentle with what's inside." Tuffnut and Ruffnut began opening up the trunks, one was full of books and paper so naturally it was ignored by the twins. Another was held various boxes, and when opened revealed weapons, another held more armor, one in particular caught the twins attention,

"Woah! Look it changes color!" Holding up the armored tunic everyone could see that it was indeed changing colors,

"What is it?" asked Hiccup

"A failed experiment I'm afraid. The red dragon, I believe Fishlegs called it a Changewing. Several of them have passed through my island and shed their scales either from injury or molting. I collected them and begun this armor, hoping that the scales would allow me to blend into my environment like the Changewings. But I'm afraid that I have no control over the camouflage ability, they simply keep changing, I am still looking into the right spell to stabilize and hopefully control how the scales change."

"Woah. Imagine if we could turn invisible like a changewing. You have to finish it! Oh, can you imagine the glorious chaos we could cause dear sister if we had this armor?"

"I can and the answer is no." said Stoick, incredibly weary of the maniacal grins the twins were sporting.

The twins pouted, but returned heir attention to the rest of the trunk, they pulled out some cloth sacks, looking inside they discovered different scales inside each, "Those are the scales I save for new armor's. Inside the bottom two trunk are my medical supplies and the scales I use for salves. And the last trunk holds my spell books and magical tools."

The twins went for the trunk filled with her magical supplies, but Hiccup quickly put a stop to that, "How about we leave the magic stuff alone, for now. Someone has to get Fishlegs and Gobber for dinner." Hiccup moved to be between the twins and the magic filled trunk, Toothless going so far as to sit on in, to further impede the twins.

"May I see how my dragons are doing, Master Hiccup? I can also inform Fishlegs of dinner." asked Scathach

"Sure. And why don't you two go and get Gobber." The last bit was directed at the twins who were trying to tempt Toothless off the trunk they desired. He cleared his throat to get their attention, both froze in place, but lost balance and tumbled into one another.

"Yes, sir." Tuffnut saluted from underneath his sister, the two scampered off to their dragon and left to find the blacksmith.

"Best keep them away from that trunk. The twins can be very destructive." said Astrid

"Thank you Mistress Astrid. I will make sure they do not open the trunk without my supervision. I will not be dining with you tonight though, I will return to my dragons and turn in for the night. Please let Gobber know that he is welcome to examine the armor in the trunk, and my notes I made while I was making it should be in one of the books."

"Are you sure you won't join us?" asked Hiccup

"Yes, I am. The dragons have been alone with a stranger for some time now and I wish to make sure they are alright." Scathach and Grim left for the training dome.

This place sure is getting more and more interesting.

It wasn't too long after that Fishlegs and Meatlug joined them, Fishlegs eagerly going to the trunk filled with books and paper, "Oh, I can't wait to read these!" he said excitedly

The riders and Chief heard Gobber's yelling first,

"I oughta bury the two of you in your boar pit!" he yelled, clutched in Barf and Belch's talons, the dragon dropped the irate blacksmith and landed, its riders snickering in their saddles. Getting up Gobber entered the hut, grumbling angrily, "Alright where's the armor, I want a look before the Chief and I return to Berk."

"Over here Gobber!" yelled Fishlegs holding up a leather bound book.

Gobber limped over and grabbed the book opening it he skimmed some pages, "very nice, a little basic, but it gets the job done."

"You should check out the weapons. There was a box with these weirdly shaped things with five points, to them. I don't know what they're for but I want some." said Tuffnut, Gobber opened the specified trunk and opened some of the boxes. They were mostly small blades, things easily hidden on ones person, but at the bottom was a longer box, opening it he found two identical blades. Picking them up he noticed how light they were compared to the one's he forged for Berk, at first he assumed that the blades would be weak, merely used for decoration. But he remembered that that was exactly what he thought the first time he forged a sword out of Gronkle Iron, "Bring your axe over here Astrid I want to test something." Astrid brought her axe over and eyed the blade Gobber held out, "Alright Lassie, lets see how strong this is. Ha!" Gobber brought the blade down hard, Astrid blocked it with her axe, the thin sword did not yield to the axe, nor did it crack. "Huh, this is some nice steel. You'll have to ask her about it for me. Whoever made this is a true craftsman, though the style is very strange. I wonder if she has any information in here about them."

Fishlegs and Gobber settled down to read, while the others sat down to eat.

End of Chapter 9: Enter the Skrill Rider Finale


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